.     .     .  .   ,  .. 


BEARS  OF 
BLUE  RIVE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


1 
y 


;// 


tA.  cAJL 
IC/CtO^^^ 


THE    BEARS    OF    BLUE    RIVER 


The 


Bears  of  Blue  River 


BY 
CHARLES   MAJOR 

AUTHOR  OF    "WHEN  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IN  FLOWER,"    ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  ET  A.    S.    FROST 
AND   OTHERS 


Nefor 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

1908 
All  rightt  rttirvtd 


COPYWGHT,   1900,   1901, 

BY  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  Co.  BY  JOHN  WANAMAKBX. 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 
BY  CHARLES   MAJOR. 


First  published  elsewhere.     Reprinted  November,  1902 ; 
March,  1904  ;  October,  1908. 
New  edition  September,  1906. 


Nortooofc  $rm 

3.  S.  Gushing  k  Co.  —  Berwick  ft  Smith 
Norwood  Man.  U.S.A. 


PS 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MSB 

The  Big  Bear 3 

CHAPTER  II. 
How  Balser  got  a  Gun 31 

CHAPTER  III. 
Lost  in  a  Forest 53 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  One-eared  Bear 79 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Wolf  Hunt .        .104 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Borrowed  Fire 140 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Fire  Bear 171 

v 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

FACE 

The  Black  Gully 190 

CHAPTER  IX. 
On  the  Stroke  of  Nine 217 

CHAPTER  X. 
A  Castle  on  Brandywine 238 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  Balser  was  more  fortunate  in  his  aim,  and  gave  the 

bear  a  mortal  wound "    .        .        .        .       Frontispiece 

FACT 

Bass  and  sunfish  and  big-mouthed  redeye  ...  4 
"  A  wildcat  almost  as  big  as  a  cow  "  .  .  14 

"  Little  Balser  noticed  fresh  bear  tracks,  and  his  breath 

began  to  come  quickly " 15 

"  Fresh  bear  tracks  " 17 

"  Imagine  ...  his  consternation  when  he  saw  upon  the 

bank,  quietly  watching  him,  a  huge  black  bear  "  .  19 
"  The  bear  had  a  peculiar,  determined  expression  about 

him" 21 

"  When  the  bear  got  within  a  few  feet  of  Balser  .  .  .  the 

boy  grew  desperate  with  fear,  and  struck  at  the 

beast  with  the  only  weapon  he  had  —  his  string  of 

fish" 25 

"  The  bear  had  caught  the  fish,  and  again  had  climbed 

upon  the  log " 29 

"  He  could  hear  the  bear  growling  right  at  his  heels, 

and  it  made  him  just  fly  "  .  .  .  .  facing  44 
"Tige  was  told  to  go  into  the  cave"  .  .  .  "  48 
"  Ea'ch  with  a  saucy  little  bear  cub "  .  .  "  52 

"  Down  came  Tom  and  Jerry  from  the  roof"  .  "  60 
Tige  and  Prince  swimming  about  the  canoe  .  .  "  74 
«'Lordy,  Balser!  It's  the  one-eared  bear '"  .  "  88 

vii 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACK 


" '  Let's  get  out  of  here '"     .        .        .        .  facing  94 

"  Balser  rushed  into  the  fight "      .        .        .         .       "  102 

"  Mischief !  they  never  thought  of  anything  else  "         .  108 
"  Balser  turned  in  time  to  see  a  great,  lank,  gray  wolf 
emerge  from  the  water,  carrying  a  gander  by  the 

neck" 109 

"  Bangj  went  Balser's  gun,  and  the  wolf .  .  .  paid  for 

his  feast  with  his  life  " 117 

"  Caught  them  by  the  back  of  the  neck  "        .         .         .123 
"  The  boys  tied  together  the  legs  of  the  old  wolves  and 
swung  them  over  the  pole  .  .  .  and  started  home 

leading  the  pups  " 127 

"  These  hives  were  called  '  gums ' "                .        .        .  135 
"  The  cubs  went  every  way  but  the  right  way  "       facing  146 

"  The  bear  rose  to  climb  after  the  boy  "        .              "  160 
"  Liney  thrust  the  burning  torch  into  the  bear's  face 

and  held  it  there  despite  its  rage  and  growls  "      "  168 

"'Help!  help!'  came  the  cry"     .        .        .         .     "  178 

"  <  Now,  hold  up  the  torch,  Polly ' "                .        .     "  204 

"  Polly  continued  slowly  toward  the  bear"     .         .      "  212 
"  Imagine  his  consternation  when  he  recognized  the 

forms  of  Liney  Fox  and  her  brother  Tom  "     .        .  229 
"He  fell  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  .  .  .  and  lay 

half  stunned " 233 

En  route  for  the  castle 244 

The  castle  on  the  Brandywine 252 

"  Balser  hesitated  to  fire,  fearing  that  he  might  kill  Tom 

or  one  of  the  dogs  " 263 

"  Espied  a  doe  and  a  fawn,  standing  upon  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  creek  " 273 


I. 

THE   BIG   BEAR. 


THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 


CHAPTER   L 

THE  BIG  BEAR. 

A  WAY  back  in  the  "twenties,"  when  Indiana 
was  a  baby  state,  and  great  forests  of  tall  trees 
and  tangled  underbrush  darkened  what  are 
now  her  bright  plains  and  sunny  hills,  there 
stood  upon  the  east  bank  of  Big  Blue  River, 
a  mile  or  two  north  of  the  point  where  that 
stream  crosses  the  Michigan  road,  a  cozy  log 
cabin  of  two  rooms  —  one  front  and  one  back. 

The  house  faced  the  west,  and  stretching 
off  toward  the  river  for  a  distance  equal  to 
twice  the  width  of  an  ordinary  street,  was  a 
blue-grass  lawn,  upon  which  stood  a  dozen  or 
more  elm  and  sycamore  trees,  with  a  few 
honey-locusts  scattered  here  and  there.  Im 
mediately  at  the  water's  edge  was  a  steep 
slope  of  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Back  of  the 

3 


4        THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 

house,  mile  upon  mile,  stretched  the  deep 
dark  forest,  inhabited  by  deer  and  bears, 
wolves  and  wildcats,  squirrels  and  birds, 
without  number. 

In  the  river  the  fish  were  so  numerous 
that  they  seemed   to   entreat   the  boys  to 


BASS  AND  SUNFISH  AND  THE  BIG-MOUTHED  REDEYB. 

catch  them,  and  to  take  them  out  of  their 
crowded  quarters.  There  were  bass  and 
black  suckers,  sunfish  and  catfish,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  sweetest  of  all,  the  big- 
mouthed  redeye. 

South  of  the  house  stood  a  log  barn,  with 
room  in  it  for  three  horses  and  two  cows; 
and  enclosing  this  barn,  together  with  a  piece 


THE   BIG  BEAR.  7 

of  ground,  five  or  six  acres  in  extent,  was  a 
palisade  fence,  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  made 
by  driving  poles  into  the  ground  close  to 
gether.  In  this  enclosure  the  farmer  kept 
his  stock,  consisting  of  a  few  sheep  and 
cattle,  and  here  also  the  chickens,  geese,  and 
ducks  were  driven  at  nightfall  to  save  them 
from  "varmints,"  as  all  prowling  animals 
were  called  by  the  settlers. 

The  man  who  had  built  this  log  hut,  and 
who  lived  in  it  and  owned  the  adjoining  land 
at  the  time  of  which  I  write,  bore  the  name 
of  Balser  Brent.  "  Balser  "  is  probably  a  cor 
ruption  of  Baltzer,  but,  however  that  may  be, 
Balser  was  his  name,  and  Balser  was  also  the 
name  of  his  boy,  who  was  the  hero  of  the 
bear  stories  which  I  am  about  to  tell  you. 

Mr.  Brent  and  his  young  wife  had  moved 
to  the  Blue  River  settlement  from  North 
Carolina,  when  young  Balser  was  a  little 
boy  five  or  six  years  of  age.  They  had  pur 
chased  the  "  eighty  "  upon  which  they  lived, 
from  the  United  States,  at  a  sale  of  public 
land  held  in  the  town  of  Brookville  on 


8        THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Whitewater,  and  had  paid  for  it  what  was 
then  considered  a  good  round  sum  —  one 
dollar  per  acre.  They  had  received  a  deed 
for  their  "  eighty  "  from  no  less  a  person  than 
James  Monroe,  then  President  of  the  United 
States.  This  deed,  which  is  called  a  patent, 
was  written  on  sheepskin,  signed  by  the 
President's  own  hand,  and  is  still  preserved 
by  the  descendants  of  Mr.  Brent  as  one  of 
the  title-deeds  to  the  land  it  conveyed.  The 
house,  as  I  have  told  you,  consisted  of  two 
large  rooms,  or  buildings,  separated  by  a 
passageway  six  or  eight  feet  broad  which 
was  roofed  over,  but  open  at  both  ends  —  on 
the  north  and  south.  The  back  room  was 
the  kitchen,  and  the  front  room  was  parlour, 
bedroom,  sitting  room  and  library  all  in  one. 
At  the  time  when  my  story  opens  Little 
Balser,  as  he  was  called  to  distinguish  him 
from  his  father,  was  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  of  age,  and  was  the  happy  possessor  of 
a  younger  brother,  Jim,  aged  nine,  and  a  lit 
tle  sister  one  year  old,  of  whom  he  was  very 
proud  indeed. 


THE   BIG   BEAR.  9 

On  the  south  side  of  the  front  room  was 
a  large  fireplace.  The  chimney  was  built  of 
sticks,  thickly  covered  with  clay.  The  fire 
place  was  almost  as  large  as  a  small  room  in 
one  of  our  cramped  modern  houses,  and  was 
broad  and  deep  enough  to  take  in  backlogs 
which  were  so  large  and  heavy  that  they 
could  not  be  lifted,  but  were  drawn  in  at  the 
door  and  rolled  over  the  floor  to  the  fireplace. 

The  prudent  father  usually  kept  two  extra 
backlogs,  one  on  each  side  of  the  fireplace, 
ready  to  be  rolled  in  as  the  blaze  died  down ; 
and  on  these  logs  the  children  would  sit  at 
night,  with  a  rough  slate  made  from  a  flat 
stone,  and  do  their  "  ciphering,"  as  the  study 
of  arithmetic  was  then  called.  The  fire 
usually  furnished  all  the  light  they  had,  for 
candles  and  "dips,"  being  expensive  lux 
uries,  were  used  only  when  company  was 
present. 

The  fire,  however,  gave  sufficient  light,  and 
its  blaze  upon  a  cold  night  extended  halfway 
up  the  chimney,  sending  a  ruddy,  cozy  glow 
to  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  room. 


io      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

The  back  room  was  the  storehouse  and 
kitchen;  and  from  the  beams  and  along 
the  walls  hung  rich  hams  and  juicy  side- 
meat,  jerked  venison,  dried  apples,  onions, 
and  other  provisions  for  the  winter.  There 
was  a  glorious  fireplace  in  this  room  also, 
and  a  crane  upon  which  to  hang  pots  and 
cooking  utensils. 

The  floor  of  the  front  room  was  made  of 
logs  split  in  halves  with  the  flat,  hewn  side 
up ;  but  the  floor  of  the  kitchen  was  of  clay, 
packed  hard  and  smooth. 

The  settlers  had  no  stoves,  but  did  their 
cooking  in  round  pots  called  Dutch  ovens. 
They  roasted  their  meats  on  a  spit  or  steel 
bar  like  the  ramrod  of  a  gun.  The  spit  was 
kept  turning  before  the  fire,  presenting  first 
one  side  of  the  meat  and  then  the  other, 
until  it  was  thoroughly  cooked.  Turning 
the  spit  was  the  children's  work. 

South  of  the  palisade  enclosing  the  barn 
was  the  clearing  —  a  tract  of  twenty  or  thirty 
acres  of  land,  from  which  Mr.  Brent  had 
cut  and  burned  the  trees.  On  this  clearing 


THE  BIG  BEAR.  11 

the  stumps  stood  thick  as  the  hair  on  an 
angry  dog's  back;  but  the  hard-working 
farmer  ploughed  between  and  around  them, 
and  each  year  raised  upon  the  fertile  soil 
enough  wheat  and  corn  to  supply  the  wants 
of  his  family  and  his  stock,  and  still  had  a 
little  grain  left  to  take  to  Brookville,  sixty 
miles  away,  where  he  had  bought  his  land, 
there  to  exchange  for  such  necessities  of  life 
as  could  not  be  grown  upon  the  farm  or 
found  in  the  forests. 

The  daily  food  of  the  family  all  came  from 
the  farm,  the  forest,  or  the  creek.  Their 
sugar  was  obtained  from  the  sap  of  the 
sugar-trees;  their  meat  was  supplied  in  the 
greatest  abundance  by  a  few  hogs,  and  by 
the  inexhaustible  game  of  which  the  forests 
were  full.  In  the  woods  were  found  deer 
just  for  the  shooting ;  and  squirrels,  rabbits, 
wild  turkeys,  pheasants,  and  quails,  so  nu 
merous  that  a  few  hours'  hunting  would 
supply  the  table  for  days.  The  fish  in  the 
river,  as  I  told  you,  fairly  longed  to  be 
caught 


12      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

One  day  Mrs.  Brent  took  down  the  din 
ner  horn  and  blew  upon  it  two  strong  blasts. 
This  was  a  signal  that  Little  Balser,  who 
was  helping  his  father  down  in  the  clearing, 
should  come  to  the  house.  Balser  was  glad 
enough  to  drop  his  hoe  and  to  run  home. 
When  he  reached  the  house  his  mother 
said :  — 

"  Balser,  go  up  to  the  drift  and  catch  a 
mess  of  fish  for  dinner.  Your  father  is  tired 
of  deer  meat  three  times  a  day,  and  I  know 
he  would  like  a  nice  dish  of  fried  redeyes  at 
noon." 

"  All  right,  mother,"  said  Balser.  And  he 
immediately  took  down  his  fishing-pole  and 
line,  and  got  the  spade  to  dig  bait.  When 
he  had  collected  a  small  gourdful  of  angle 
worms,  his  mother  called  to  him :  — 

"You  had  better  take  a  gun.  You  may 
meet  a  bear ;  your  father  loaded  the  gun  this 
morning,  and  you  must  be  careful  in  han 
dling  it." 

Balser  took  the  gun,  which  was  a  heavy 
rifle  considerably  longer  than  himself,  and 


THE  BIG   BEAR.  13 

started  up  the  river  toward  the  drift,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

There  had  been  rain  during  the  night  and 
the  ground  near  the  drift  was  soft. 

Here,  Little  Balser  noticed  fresh  bear 
tracks,  and  his  breath  began  to  come  quickly. 
You  may  be  sure  he  peered  closely  into 
every  dark  thicket,  and  looked  behind  all 
the  large  trees  and  logs,  and  had  his  eyes 
wide  open  lest  perchance  "  Mr.  Bear  "  should 
step  out  and  surprise  him  with  an  affection 
ate  hug,  and  thereby  put  an  end  to  Little 
Balser  forever. 

So  he  walked  on  cautiously,  and,  if  the 
truth  must  be  told,  somewhat  tremblingly, 
until  he  reached  the  drift. 

Balser  was  but  a  little  fellow,  yet  the  stern 
necessities  of  a  settler's  life  had  compelled 
his  father  to  teach  him  the  use  of  a  gun; 
and  although  Balser  had  never  killed  a  bear, 
he  had  shot  several  deer,  and  upon  one 
occasion  had  killed  a  wildcat,  "  almost  as  big 
as  a  cow,"  he  said. 

I    have    no    doubt    the   wildcat    seemed 


14      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

"  almost  as  big  as  a  cow  '*  to  Balser  when  he 
killed  it,  for  it  must  have  frightened  him 
greatly,  as  wildcats  were  sometimes  danger 
ous  animals  for  children  to  encounter. 


"A    WILDCAT    ALMOST    AS    BIG    AS    A    COW." 

Although  Balser  had  never  met  a  bear  face 
to  face  and  alone,  yet  he  felt,  and  many  a 
time  had  said,  that  there  wasn't  a  bear  in 
the  world  big  enough  to  frighten  him,  if  he 
but  had  his  gun. 

He  had  often  imagined  and  minutely 
detailed  to  his  parents  and  little  brother  just 
what  he  would  do  if  he  should  meet  a  bear. 
He  would  wait  calmly  and  quietly  until  his 
bearship  should  come  within  a  few  yards  of 
him,  and  then  he  would  slowly  lift  his  gun. 


"LITTLE  BALSER   NOTICED   FRESH  BEAR  TRACKS,  AND  HIS 
BREATH  BEGAN  TO  COME  QUICKLY." 


THE  BIG   BEAR. 


Bang!  and  Mr.  Bear  would  be  dead  with  a 
bullet  in  his  heart. 

But  when  he  saw  the  fresh  bear  tracks, 
and  began  to  realize  that  he  would  probably 
have  an  opportunity  to  put  his  theories 
about  bear  killing  into  practice,  he  began  to 


after    all,    he    would 
frightened    and    miss 
Then  he  thought  of 
bear,  in   that  case, 


wonder  if, 
become 
his  aim. 
how  the 
would  be  calm 
and   deliber 
ate,  and  would 
put  his  theories  JT 

4 

into  practice  by 
walking  very 
politely  up  to  him,  and  making  a  very  satis 
factory  dinner  of  a  certain  boy  whom  he 
could  name.  But  as  he  walked  on  and  no 
bear  appeared,  his  courage  grew  stronger  as 
the  prospect  of  meeting  the  enemy  grew  less, 
and  he  again  began  saying  to  himself  that 
no  bear  could  frighten  him,  because  he  had 
his  gun  and  he  could  and  wduld  kill  it. 


"FRESH    BEAR  TRACKS." 


1 8      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

So  Balser  reached  the  drift;  and  having 
looked  carefully  about  him,  leaned  his  gun 
against  a  tree,  unwound  his  fishing-line  from 
the  pole,  and  walked  out  to  the  end  of  a 
log  which  extended  into  the  river  some 
twenty  or  thirty  feet. 

Here  he  threw  in  his  line,  and  soon  was 
so  busily  engaged  drawing  out  sunfish  and 
redeyes,  and  now  and  then  a  bass,  which 
was  hungry  enough  to  bite  at  a  worm,  that 
all  thought  of  the  bear  went  out  of  his  mind. 

After  he  had  caught  enough  fish  for  a 
sumptuous  dinner  he  bethought  him  of  going 
home,  and  as  he  turned  toward  the  shore, 
imagine,  if  you  can,  his  consternation  when 
he  saw  upon  the  bank,  quietly  watching 
him,  a  huge  black  bear. 

If  the  wildcat  had  seemed  as  large  as  a 
cow  to  Balser,  of  what  size  do  you  suppose 
that  bear  appeared  ?  A  cow !  An  elephant, 
surely,  was  small  compared  with  the  huge 
black  fellow  standing  upon  the  bank. 

It  is  true  Balser  had  never  seen  an  ele 
phant,  but  his  father  had,  and  so  had  his 


THE   BIG  BEAR.  21 

friend  Tom  Fox,  who  lived  down  the  river; 
and  they  all  agreed  that  an  elephant  was 
"  purt  nigh  as  big  as  all  outdoors." 

The  bear  had  a  peculiar,  determined  ex 
pression  about  him  that  seemed  to  say:  — 

"  That  boy  can't  get  away ;  he's  out  on 
the  log  where  the  water  is  deep,  and  if  he 


"  THE  BEAR  HAD  A  PECULIAR,  DETERMINED  EXPRESSION  ABOUT  HIM." 

jumps  into  the  river  I  can  easily  jump  in 
after  him  and  catch  him  before  he  can  swim 
a  dozen  strokes.  He'll  have  to  come  off 
the  log  in  a  short  time,  and  then  I'll  proceed 
to  devour  him." 

About  the  same  train  of  thought  had 
also  been  rapidly  passing  through  Balser's 
mind.  His  gun  was  on  the  bank  where  he 


22      THE   BEARS  OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

had  left  it,  and  in  order  to  reach  it  he  would 
have  to  pass  the  bear.  He  dared  not  jump 
into  the  water,  for  any  attempt  to  escape  on 
his  part  would  bring  the  bear  upon  him 
instantly.  He  was  very  much  frightened, 
but,  after  all,  was  a  cool-headed  little  fellow 
for  his  age ;  so  he  concluded  that  he  would 
not  press  matters,  as  the  bear  did  not  seem 
inclined  to  do  so,  but  so  long  as  the  bear 
remained  watching  him  on  the  bank  would 
stay  upon  the  log  where  he  was,  and  allow 
the  enemy  to  eye  him  to  his  heart's  con 
tent. 

There  they  stood,  the  boy  and  the  bear, 
each  eying  the  other  as  though  they  were 
the  best  of  friends,  and  would  like  to  eat 
each  other,  which,  in  fact,  was  literally  true. 

Time  sped  very  slowly  for  one  of  them, 
you  may  be  sure;  and  it  seemed  to  Balser 
that  he  had  been  standing  almost  an  age 
in  the  middle  of  Blue  River  on  that  wretched 
shaking  log,  when  he  heard  his  mother's 
dinner  horn,  reminding  him  that  it  was  time 
to  go  home. 


THE  BIG  BEAR.  23 

Balser  quite  agreed  with  his  mother,  and 
gladly  would  he  have  gone,  I  need  not  tell 
you ;  but  there  stood  the  bear,  patient,  deter 
mined,  and  fierce ;  and  Little  Balser  soon  was 
convinced  in  his  own  mind  that  his  time 
had  come  to  die. 

He  hoped  that  when  his  father  should  go 
home  to  dinner  and  find  him  still  absent, 
he  would  come  up  the  river  in  search  of 
him,  and  frighten  away  the  bear.  Hardly 
had  this  hope  sprung  up  in  his  mind,  when 
it  seemed  that  the  same  thought  had  also 
occurred  to  the  bear,  for  he  began  to  move 
down  toward  the  shore  end  of  the  log  upon 
which  Balser  was  standing. 

Slowly  came  the  bear  until  he  reached  the 
end  of  the  log,  which  for  a  moment  he  exam 
ined  suspiciously,  and  then,  to  Balser's  great 
alarm,  cautiously  stepped  out  upon  it  and 
began  to  walk  toward  him. 

Balser  thought  of  the  folks  at  home,  and, 
above  all,  of  his  baby  sister;  and  when  he 
felt  that  he  should  never  see  them  again, 
and  that  they  would  in  all  probability  never 


24      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

know  of  his  fate,  he  began  to  grow  heavy- 
hearted  and  was  almost  paralyzed  with  fear. 

On  came  the  bear,  putting  one  great  paw 
in  front  of  the  other,  and  watching  Balser 
intently  with  his  little  black  eyes.  His 
tongue  hung  out,  and  his  great  red  mouth 
was  open  to  its  widest,  showing  the  sharp, 
long,  glittering  teeth  that  would  soon  be 
feasting  on  a  first-class  boy  dinner. 

When  the  bear  got  within  a  few  feet  of 
Balser — so  close  he  could  almost  feel  the 
animal's  hot  breath  as  it  slowly  approached 
—  the  boy  grew  desperate  with  fear,  and 
struck  at  the  bear  with  the  only  weapon  he 
had  —  his  string  of  fish. 

Now,  bears  love  fish  and  blackberries 
above  all  other  food ;  so  when  Balser's 
string  of  fish  struck  the  bear  in  the  mouth, 
he  grabbed  at  them,  and  in  doing  so  lost  his 
foothold  on  the  slippery  log  and  fell  into  the 
water  with  a  great  splash  and  plunge. 

This  was  Balser's  chance  for  life,  so  he 
flung  the  fish  to  the  bear,  and  ran  for  the 
bank  with  a  speed  worthy  of  the  cause. 


THE   BIG   BEAR.  27 

When  he  reached  the  bank  his  self-confi 
dence  returned,  and  he  remembered  all  the 
things  he  had  said  he  would  do  if  he  should 
meet  a  bear. 

The  bear  had  caught  the  fish,  and  again 
had  climbed  upon  the  log,  where  he  was 
deliberately  devouring  them. 

This  was  Little  Balser's  chance  for  death 
—  to  the  bear.  Quickly  snatching  up  the 
gun,  he  rested  it  in  the  fork  of  a  small  tree 
near  by,  took  deliberate  aim  at  the  bear, 
which  was  not  five  yards  away,  and  shot 
him  through  the  heart.  The  bear  dropped 
into  the  water  dead,  and  floated  downstream 
a  little  way,  where  he  lodged  at  a  ripple  a 
short  distance  below. 

Balser,  after  he  had  killed  the  bear,  be 
came  more  frightened  than  he  had  been 
at  any  time  during  the  adventure,  and  ran 
home  screaming.  That  afternoon  his  father 
went  to  the  scene  of  battle  and  took  the  bear 
out  of  the  water.  It  was  very  fat  and  large, 
and  weighed,  so  Mr.  Brent  said,  over  six 
hundred  pounds. 


28      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Balser  was  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  he 
himself  was  also  very  fat  and  large,  and 
weighed  at  least  as  much  as  the  bear.  He 
was  certainly  entitled  to  feel  "  big " ;  for  he 
had  got  himself  out  of  an  ugly  scrape  in  a 
brave,  manly,  and  cool-headed  manner,  and 
had  achieved  a  victory  of  which  a  man  might 
have  been  proud. 

The  news  of  Balser's  adventure  soon 
spread  among  the  neighbours  and  he  became 
quite  a  hero ;  for  the  bear  he  had  killed  was 
one  of  the  largest  that  had  ever  been  seen  in 
that  neighbourhood,  and,  besides  the  gallons 
of  rich  bear  oil  it  yielded,  there  were  three 
or  four  hundred  pounds  of  bear  meat;  and 
no  other  food  is  more  strengthening  for 
winter  diet. 

There  was  also  the  soft,  furry  skin,  which 
Balser's  mother  tanned,  and  with  it  made  a 
coverlid  for  Balser's  bed,  under  which  he  and 
his  little  brother  lay  many  a  cold  night,  cozy 
and  "  snug  as  a  bug  in  a  rug." 


I 


CHAPTER   II. 

HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN. 

FOR  many  years  after  the  killing  of  the 
big  bear,  as  told  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
time  was  reckoned  by  Balser  as  beginning 
with  that  event.  It  was,  if  I  may  say  it,  his 
"  Anno  Domini."  In  speaking  of  occurrences, 
events,  and  dates,  he  always  fixed  them  in  a 
general  way  by  saying,  "  That  happened  be 
fore  I  killed  the  big  bear ;  "  or,  "  That  took 
place  after  I  killed  the  big  bear."  The  great 
immeasurable  eternity  of  time  was  divided 
into  two  parts:  that  large  unoccupied  portion 
preceding  the  death  of  the  big  bear,  and  the 
part,  full  to  overflowing  with  satisfaction  and 
pride,  after  that  momentous  event. 

Balser's  adventure  had  raised  him  vastly 
in  the  estimation  of  his  friends  and  neigh 
bours,  and,  what  was  quite  as  good,  had 

3» 


32      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

increased  his  respect  for  himself,  and  had 
given  him  confidence,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  qualities  for  boy  or  man. 
Frequently  when  Balser  met  strangers,  and 
the  story  of  the  big  bear  was  told,  they 
would  pat  the  boy  on  the  shoulder  and  call 
him  a  little  man,  and  would  sometimes  ask 
him  if  he  owned  a  gun.  Much  to  Balser's 
sorrow,  he  was  compelled  to  admit  that  he 
did  not.  The  questions  as  to  whether  or  not 
he  owned  a  gun  had  put  into  his  mind  the 
thought  of  how  delightful  life  would  be  if  he 
but  possessed  one  ;  and  his  favourite  visions 
by  day  and  his  sweetest  dreams  by  night 
were  all  about  a  gun ;  one  not  so  long  nor 
so  heavy  as  his  father's,  but  of  the  shorter, 
lighter  pattern  known  as  a  smooth-bore 
carbine.  He  had  heard  his  father  speak  of 
this  gun,  and  of  its  effectiveness  at  short 
range ;  and  although  at  long  distances  it  was 
not  so  true  of  aim  as  his  father's  gun,  still  he 
felt  confident  that,  if  he  but  possessed  the 
coveted  carbine  he  could,  single-handed  and 
alone,  exterminate  all  the  races  of  bears, 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         33 

wolves  and  wildcats  that  inhabited  the  for 
ests  round  about,  and  "pestered"  the  farmers 
with  their  depredations. 

But  how  to  get  the  gun!  That  was  the 
question.  Raiser's  father  had  received  a  gun 
as  a  present  from  his  father  when  Balser  Sr. 
had  reached  the  advanced  age  of  twenty-one, 
and  it  was  considered  a  rich  gift.  The  cost 
of  a  gun  for  Balser  would  equal  half  of  the 
sum  total  that  his  father  could  make  during 
an  entire  year;  and^  although  Little  Balser 
looked  forward  in  fond  expectation  to  the 
time  when  he  should  be  twenty-one  and 
should  receive  a  gun  from  his  father,  yet  he 
did  not  even  hope  that  he  would  have  one 
before  then,  however  much  he  might  dream 
about  it.  Dreams  cost  nothing,  and  guns 
were  expensive ;  too  expensive  even  to  be 
hoped  for.  So  Balser  contented  himself 
with  inexpensive  dreams,  and  was  willing, 
though  not  content,  to  wait. 

But  the  unexpected  usually  happens,  at 
an  unexpected  time,  and  in  an  unexpected 
manner. 


34      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  summer  after 
the  killing  of  the  big  bear,  when  Balser's 
father  had  "  laid  by "  his  corn,  and  the  little 
patch  of  wheat  had  just  begun  to  take  on  a 
golden  brown  as  due  notice  that  it  was 
nearly  ready  to  be  harvested,  there  came  a 
few  days  of  idleness  for  the  busy  farmer. 
Upon  one  of  those  rare  idle  days  Mr.  Brent 
and  Balser  went  down  the  river  on  a  fishing 
and  hunting  expedition.  There  was  but  one 
gun  in  the  family,  therefore  Balser  could  not 
hunt  when  his  father  was  with  him,  so  he 
took  his  fishing-rod,  and  did  great  execution 
among  the  finny  tribe,  while  his  father  watched 
along  the  river  for  game,  as  it  came  down 
to  drink. 

Upon  the  day  mentioned  Balser  and  his 
father  had  wandered  down  the  river  as  far 
as  the  Michigan  road,  and  Mr.  Brent  had 
left  the  boy  near  the  road  fishing,  after  tell 
ing  him  to  go  home  in  an  hour  or  two,  and 
that  he,  Mr.  Brent,  would  go  by  another 
route  and  be  home  in  time  for  supper. 

So  Balser  was  left  by  himself,  fishing  at  a 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         35 

deep  hole  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  north  of 
the  road.  This  was  at  a  time  when  the  river 
was  in  flood,  and  the  ford  where  travellers 
usually  crossed  was  too  deep  for  passage. 

Balser  had  been  fishing  for  an  hour  or 
more,  and  had  concluded  to  go  home,  when 
he  saw  approaching  along  the  road  from  the 
east  a  man  and  woman  on  horseback.  They 
soon  reached  the  ford  and  stopped,  believing 
it  to  be  impassable.  They  were  mud-stained 
and  travel-worn,  and  their  horses,  covered 
with  froth,  were  panting  as  if  they  had  been 
urged  to  their  greatest  speed.  After  a  little 
time  the  gentleman  saw  Balser,  and  called 
to  him.  The  boy  immediately  went  to  the 
travellers,  and  the  gentleman  said:  — 

"  My  little  man,  can  you  tell  me  if  it  is  safe 
to  attempt  the  ford  at  this  time  ?  " 

"  It  will  swim  your  horses,"  answered 
Balser. 

"  I  knew  it  would,"  said  the  lady,  in 
evident  distress.  She  was  young  and  pretty, 
and  seemed  to  be  greatly  fatigued  and  fright 
ened.  The  gentleman  was  very  attentive, 


36      THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE  RIVER. 

and  tried  to  soothe  her,  but  in  a  moment  or 
two  she  began  to  weep,  and  said :  — 

"  They  will  catch  us,  I  know.  They  will 
catch  us.  They  cannot  be  more  than  a  mile 
behind  us  now,  and  we  have  no  place  to  turn." 

"  Is  some  one  trying  to  catch  you  ? "  asked 
Balser. 

The  gentleman  looked  down  at  the  little 
fellow  for  a  moment,  and  was  struck  by  his 
bright,  manly  air.  The  thought  occurred  to 
him  that  Balser  might  suspect  them  of  being 
fugitives  from  justice,  so  he  explained :  — 

"  Yes,  my  little  fellow,  a  gentleman  is  try 
ing  to  catch  us.  He  is  this  lady's  father. 
He  has  with  him  a  dozen  men,  and  if  they 
overtake  us  they  will  certainly  kill  me  and 
take  this  lady  home.  Do  you  know  of  any 
place  where  we  may  hide  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  Balser,  quickly ;  "  help 
me  on  behind  you,  and  I'll  take  you  to  my 
father's  house.  There's  no  path  up  the 
river,  and  if  they  attempt  to  follow  they'll 
get  lost  in  the  woods." 

Balser  climbed  on  the  horse   behind   the 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         37 

gentleman,  and  soon  they  plunged  into  the 
deep  forest,  and  rode  up  the  river  toward 
Balser's  home.  The  boy  knew  the  forest 
well,  and  in  a  short  time  the  little  party  of 
three  was  standing  at  the  hospitable  cabin 
door.  Matters  were  soon  explained  to  Bal 
ser's  mother,  and  she,  with  true  hospitality, 
welcomed  the  travellers  to  her  home.  Dur 
ing  the  conversation  Balser  learned  that  the 
gentleman  and  lady  were  running  away  that 
they  might  be  married,  and,  hoping  to  finish 
a  good  job,  the  boy  volunteered  the  advice 
that  they  should  be  married  that  same  even 
ing  under  his  father's  roof.  He  also  offered 
to  go  in  quest  of  a  preacher  who  made  his 
home  some  two  miles  to  the  east. 

The  advice  and  the  offer  of  services  were 
eagerly  accepted,  and  the  lady  and  gentle 
man  were  married  that  night,  and  remained 
a  few  days  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Brent  until 
the  river  was  low  enough  to  cross. 

The  strangers  felt  grateful  to  the  boy  who 
had  given  them  such  timely  help,  and  asked 
him  what  they  could  do  for  him  in  return. 


38      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

Balser  hesitated  a  moment,  and  said, 
"  There's  only  one  thing  I  want  very  bad, 
but  that  would  cost  so  much  there's  no  use 
to  speak  of  it." 

"  What  is  it,  Balser  ?  Speak  up,  and  if  it 
is  anything  I  can  buy,  you  shall  have  it." 

"  A  gun !  A  gun !  A  smooth-bore  car 
bine.  I'd  rather  have  it  than  anything  else 
in  the  world." 

"You1  shall  have  it  if  there's  one  to  be 
bought  in  Indianapolis.  We  are  going  there, 
and  will  return  within  a  week  or  ten  days, 
and  you  shall  have  your  carbine  if  I  can 
find  one." 

Within  two  weeks  after  this  conversation 
Balser  was  the  happiest  boy  in  Indiana,  for 
he  owned  a  carbine,  ten  pounds  of  fine 
powder,  and  lead  enough  to  kill  every  living 
creature  within  a  radius  of  five  miles. 

Of  course  the  carbine  had  to  be  tested  at 
once.  So  the  day  after  he  received  it  Balser 
started  out  with  his  father  on  a  hunting 
expedition,  fully  determined  in  his  own  mind 
to  kill  a  bear  twice  as  large  as  his  first  one. 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         39 

They  took  with  them  corn-bread  and  dried 
venison  for  dinner,  and  started  east  toward 
Conn's  Creek,  where  the  houses  of  the  set 
tlers  were  thinly  scattered  and  game  plentiful. 

They  had  with  them  two  faithful  dogs, 
"  Tige "  and  "  Prince."  Balser  considered 
these  dogs  the  most  intelligent  animals  that 
walked  on  four  feet.  They  were  deer- 
hounds  with  a  cross  of  bulldog,  and  were 
swift  of  foot  and  very  strong. 

Our  hunters  had  travelled  perhaps  three 
or  four  miles  into  the  forest  when  they 
started  a  deer,  in  pursuit  of  which  the  dogs 
bounded  off  with  their  peculiar  bark,  and 
soon  deer  and  dogs  were  lost  to  sight.  Bal 
ser  and  his  father  listened  carefully  for  the 
voices  of  the  dogs,  for  should  the  deer  turn 
at  bay,  the  dogs,  instead  of  the  quick  bark, 
to  which  they  gave  voice  in  the  chase,  would 
utter  a  long-drawn-out  note  —  half  howl,  half 
yelp. 

The  bay  of  the  hounds  had  died  away  in 
the  distance,  and  Balser  and  his  father  had 
heard  nothing  of  them  for  two  or  three  hours. 


40      THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

The  hunters  had  seen  other  deer  as  they 
walked  along,  but  they  had  been  unable  to 
obtain  a  shot  Smaller  game  was  plentiful, 
but  Balser  and  his  father  did  not  care  to 
frighten  away  large  game  by  shooting  at 
squirrels  or  birds.  So  they  continued  their 
walk  until  they  reached  the  bank  of  Conn's 
Creek,  near  the  hour  of  noon ;  by  that  time 
Balser's  appetite  was  beginning  to  call  loudly 
for  dinner,  and  he  could  not  resist  the  temp 
tation  to  shoot  a  squirrel,  which  he  saw 
upon  a  limb  of  a  neighbouring  tree.  The 
squirrel  fell  to  the  ground  and  was  soon 
skinned  and  cleaned.  Balser  then  kindled  a 
fire,  and  cutting  several  green  twigs,  sharp 
ened  the  ends  and  fastened  small  pieces  of 
the  squirrel  upon  them.  He  next  stuck  the 
twigs  in  the  ground  so  that  they  leaned 
toward  the  fire,  with  the  meat  hanging 
directly  over  the  blaze.  Soon  the  squirrel 
was  roasted  to  a  delicious  brown,  and  then 
Balser  served  dinner  to  his  father,  who  was 
sitting  on  a  rock  near  by.  The  squirrel, 
the  corn-bread,  and  the  venison  quickly  dis- 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         41 

appeared,  and  Balser,  if  permitted  to  do  so, 
would  have  found  another  squirrel  and  would 
have  cooked  it.  Just  as  dinner  was  finished, 
there  came  from  a  long  way  up-stream  the 
howling  bark  of  Tige  and  Prince,  telling, 
plainly  as  if  they  had  spoken  English,  that 
the  deer  was  at  bay. 

Thereupon  Balser  quickly  loaded  his  gun, 
and  he  and  his  father  looked  carefully  to 
their  primings.  Then  Mr.  Brent  directed 
Balser  to  climb  down  the  cliff  and  move 
toward  the  dogs  through  the  thicket  in  the 
bottom,  while  he  went  by  another  route, 
along  the  bluff.  Should  the  hunters  be 
separated,  they  were  to  meet  at  an  agreed 
place  in  the  forest.  Balser  climbed  cautiously 
down  the  cliff  and  was  soon  deep  in  a  dark 
thicket  of  tangled  underbrush  near  the  creek. 

Now  and  then  the  deep  bay  of  the  dogs 
reached  his  ears  from  the  direction  whence 
he  had  first  heard  it,  and  he  walked  as 
rapidly  as  the  tangled  briers  and  under 
growth  would  permit  toward  his  faithful 
fellow-hunters. 


42      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

He  was  so  intent  on  the  game  which  he 
knew  the  dogs  held  at  bay,  that  he  did  not 
look  about  him  with  his  accustomed  caution, 
and  the  result  of  his  unwatchfulness  was 
that  he  found  himself  within  ten  feet  of  two 
huge  bears  before  he  was  at  all  aware  of 
their  presence.  They  were  evidently  male 
and  female,  and  upon  seeing  him  the  great 
he-bear  gave  forth  a  growl  that  frightened 
Balser  to  the  depths  of  his  soul.  Retreat 
seemed  almost  impossible;  and  should  he 
fire  at  one  of  the  bears,  his  gun  would  be 
empty  and  he  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the 
other.  To  attempt  to  outrun  a  bear,  even 
on  level  ground,  would  be  almost  a  hopeless 
undertaking;  for  the  bear,  though  an  awk 
ward-looking  creature,  is  capable  of  great 
speed  when  it  comes  to  a  foot-race.  But 
there,  where  the  tangled  underbrush  was  so 
dense  that  even  walking  through  it  was  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty,  running  was  out  of 
the  question,  for  the  thicket  which  would 
greatly  impede  Balser  would  be  but  small 
hindrance  to  the  bears. 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         43 

After  Balser  had  killed  the  big  bear  at  the 
drift,  he  felt  that  he  never  again  would  suffer 
from  what  hunters  call  "  buck  ager  " ;  but 
when  he  found  himself  confronted  by  those 
black  monsters,  he  began  to  tremble  in 
every  limb,  and  for  the  life  of  him  could  not 
at  first  lift  his  gun.  The  he-bear  was  the 
first  to  move.  He  raised  himself  on  his 
haunches,  and  with  a  deep  growl  started  for 
poor  Balser.  Balser  should  have  shot  the 
bear  as  he  came  toward  him,  but  acting 
solely  from  an  instinct  of  self-preservation 
he  started  to  run.  He  made  better  headway 
than  he  had  thought  possible,  and  soon  came 
to  a  small  open  space  of  ground  where  the 
undergrowth  was  not  so  thick,  and  where 
the  bright  light  of  the  sun  dispelled  the 
darkness.  The  light  restored  Balser's  confi 
dence,  and  the  few  moments  of  retreat  gave 
him  time  to  think  and  to  pull  himself  to 
gether.  So,  turning  quickly,  he  lifted  his 
gun  to  his  shoulder  and  fired  at  the  bear, 
which  was  not  two  yards  behind  him.  Un 
fortunately,  his  aim  was  unsteady,  and  his 


44      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

shot  wounded  the  bear  in  the  neck,  but  did 
not  kill  him. 

Balser  saw  the  disastrous  failure  he  had 
made,  and  felt  that  the  bear  would  be  much 
surer  in  his  attack  upon  him  than  he  had 
been  in  his  attack  upon  the  bear.  The  boy 
then  threw  away  his  gun,  and  again  began  a 
hasty  retreat. 

He  called  for  his  father,  and  cried,  "  Tige  ! 
Prince  !  Tige !  Tige  !  "  not  so  much  with  a 
hope  that  either  the  dogs  or  his  father  would 
hear,  but  because  he  knew  not  what  else  to 
do.  Balser  ran  as  fast  as  he  could,  still  the 
bear  was  at  his  heels,  and  the  frightened  boy 
expected  every  moment  to  feel  a  stroke  from 
the  brute's  huge  rough  paw.  Soon  it  came, 
with  a  stunning  force  that  threw  Balser  to 
the  ground,  upon  his  back.  The  bear  was 
over  him  in  an  instant,  and  caught  his  left 
arm  between  his  mighty  jaws.  It  seemed 
then  that  the  light  of  the  world  went  out  for 
a  moment,  and  he  remembered  nothing  but 
the  huge,  blood-red  mouth  of  the  bear,  his 
hot  breath  almost  burning  his  cheeks,  and 


— 

V 

~ 


HOW  BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         45 

his  deep,  terrible  growls  nearly  deafening  his 
ears.  Balser's  whole  past  life  came  up  before 
him  like  a  picture,  and  he  remembered  every 
thing  that  had  ever  happened  to  him.  He 
thought  of  how  deeply  his  dear  father  and 
mother  would  grieve,  and  for  the  only  time 
in  his  life  regretted  having  received  the  car 
bine,  for  it  was  the  gun,  after  all,  that  had 
got  him  into  this  trouble.  All  this  happened 
in  less  time  than  it  takes  you  to  read  ten 
lines  of  this  page,  but  it  seemed  very,  very 
long  to  Balser,  lying  there  with  the  huge 
body  of  the  bear  over  him. 

Suddenly  a  note  of  hope  struck  his  ear  — 
the  sweetest  sound  he  had  ever  heard.  It 
was  the  yelp  of  dear  old  Tige,  who  had 
heard  his  call  and  had  come  to  the  rescue. 
If  there  is  any  creature  on  earth  that  a  bear 
thoroughly  hates,  it  is  a  dog.  Tige  wasted 
not  a  moment's  time,  but  was  soon  biting 
and  pulling  at  the  bear's  hind  legs.  The 
bear  immediately  turned  upon  the  dog,  and 
gave  Balser  an  opportunity  to  rise.  Of  this 
opportunity  he  quickly  took  advantage,  you 


46      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

may  be  sure.  Soon  Prince  came  up  also, 
and  in  these  two  strong  dogs  the  bear  had 
foemen  worthy  of  his  steel. 

Balser's  great  danger  and  narrow  escape 
had  quickened  all  his  faculties,  so  he  at  once 
ran  back  to  the  place  where  he  had  dropped 
his  gun,  and  although  his  left  arm  had  been 
terribly  bitten,  he  succeeded  in  loading,  and 
soon  came  back  to  the  help  of  the  dogs,  who 
had  given  him  such  timely  assistance. 

The  fight  between  the  dogs  and  the  bear 
was  going  on  at  a  merry  rate,  when  Balser 
returned  to  the  scene  of  action.  With  Prince 
on  one  side  and  Tige  on  the  other,  both  so 
strong  and  savage,  and  each  quick  and  nim 
ble  as  a  cat,  the  bear  had  all  he  could  do  to 
defend  himself,  and  continually  turned  first 
one  way  and  then  another  in  his  effort  to 
keep  their  fangs  away  from  his  legs  or  throat. 
This  enabled  Balser  to  approach  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  bear,  which  he  cau 
tiously  did.  Taking  care  not  to  wound 
either  of  his  faithful  friends,  he  was  more 
fortunate  in  his  aim  than  he  had  been  the 


HOW   BALSER   GOT   A   GUN.         47 

first  time,  and  gave  the  bear  a  mortal 
wound. 

The  wounded  animal  made  a  hasty  re 
treat  back  into  the  thicket,  followed  closely 
by  the  dogs ;  but  Balser  had  seen  more  than 
enough  of  bear  society  in  the  thicket,  and 
prudently  concluded  not  to  follow.  He  then 
loaded  his  gun  with  a  heavy  charge  of 
powder  only,  and  fired  it  to  attract  his 
father's  attention.  This  he  repeated  several 
times,  until  at  last  he  saw  the  welcome  form 
of  his  father  hurrying  toward  him  from  the 
bluff.  When  his  father  reached  him  and 
saw  that  he  had  been  wounded,  Mr.  Brent 
was  naturally  greatly  troubled;  but  Balser 
said:  "I'll  tell  you  all  about  it  soon.  Let's 
go  in  after  the  bears.  Two  of  them  are  in 
the  thicket  up  there  next  to  the  cliff,  and 
the  dogs  have  followed  them.  If  Tige  had 
not  come  up  just  in  time,  one  of  the  bears 
would  have  killed  me ;  but  I  think  the  shot 
I  gave  him  must  have  killed  him  by  this 
time." 

So  without  another  word,  Balser  having 


48      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

loaded  his  gun,  they  started  into  the  dark 
thicket  toward  the  cliff,  in  the  direction 
whence  came  the  voices  of  the  dogs. 

They  had  not  proceeded  farther  than  a 
hundred  yards  when  they  found  the  bear 
which  Balser  had  shot,  lying  dead  in  the 
path  over  which  Balser  had  so  recently 
made  his  desperate  retreat.  The  dogs  were 
farther  in,  toward  the  cliff,  where  the  vines, 
trees,  and  brush  grew  so  thick  that  it  was 
almost  dark. 

The  two  hunters,  however,  did  not  stop, 
but  hurried  on  to  the  help  of  their  dogs. 
Soon  they  saw  through  the  gloom  of  the 
thicket  the  she-bear,  and  about  her  the  dogs 
were  prancing,  barking,  and  snapping  most 
furiously. 

Carefully  Balser  and  his  father  took  their 
position  within  a  few  yards  of  the  bear,  and 
Balser,  upon  a  signal  from  his  father,  called 
off  the  dogs  so  that  a  shot  might  be  made 
at  the  bear  without  danger  of  killing  either 
Tige  or  Prince. 

Soon    the    report   of    two    guns    echoed 


r. 


:  Tige  was  told  to  go  into  the  cave." 


HOW   BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         49 

through  the  forest,  almost  at  the  same  in 
stant,  and  the  great  she-bear  fell  over  on 
her  side,  quivered  for  a  moment,  and  died. 
This  last  battle  took  place  close  by  the  stone 
cliff,  which  rose  from  the  bottom-land  to  a 
height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet. 

Balser  and  his  father  soon  worked  their 
way  through  the  underbrush  to  where  the 
she-bear  lay  dead.  After  having  examined 
the  bear,  Balser's  attention  was  attracted  to 
a  small  opening  in  the  cliff,  evidently  the 
mouth  of  a  cave  which  had  probably  been 
the  home  of  the  bear  family  that  he  and  his 
father  had  just  exterminated.  The  she-bear 
had  taken  her  stand  at  the  door  of  her  home, 
and  in  defending  it  had  lost  her  life.  Balser 
examined  the  opening  in  the  cliff,  and  con 
cluded  to  enter ;  but  his  father  said :  — 

"You  don't  know  what's  in  there.  Let's 
first  send  in  one  of  the  dogs." 

So  Tige  was  called  and  told  to  go  into  the 
cave.  Immediately  after  he  had  entered  he 
gave  forth  a  series  of  sharp  yelps  which  told 
plainly  enough  that  he  had  found  something 


50      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE  RIVER. 

worth  barking  at.  Then  Balser  called  the 
dog  out,  and  Mr.  Brent  collected  pieces  of 
dry  wood,  and  made  a  fire  in  front  of  the 
cave,  hoping  to  drive  out  any  animal  that 
might  be  on  the  inside. 

He  more  than  suspected  that  he  would 
find  a  pair  of  cubs. 

As  the  smoke  brought  nothing  forth,  he 
concluded  to  enter  the  cave  himself  and 
learn  what  was  there. 

Dropping  upon  his  knees,  he  began  to 
crawl  in  at  the  narrow  opening,  and  the  boy 
and  the  two  dogs  followed  closely.  Mr. 
Brent  had  taken  with  him  a  lighted  torch, 
and  when  he  had  gone  but  a  short  distance 
into  the  cave  he  saw  in  a  remote  corner 
a  pair  of  gray-black,  frowzy  little  cubs,  as  fat 
and  round  as  a  roll  of  butter.  They  were 
lying  upon  a  soft  bed  of  leaves  and  grass, 
which  had  been  collected  by  their  father  and 
mother. 

Balser's  delight  knew  no  bounds,  for,  next 
to  his  gun,  what  he  wanted  above  all  things 
was  a  bear  cub,  and  here  were  two  of  them. 


HOW   BALSER  GOT  A  GUN.         51 

Quickly  he  and  his  father  each  picked  up  a 
cub  and  made  their  way  out  of  the  cave. 

The  cubs,  not  more  than  one-half  larger 
than  a  cat,  were  round  and  very  fat,  and 
wore  a  coat  of  fur,  soft  and  sleek  as  the  finest 
silk.  Young  bears  usually  are  gray  until 
after  they  are  a  year  old,  but  these  were  an 
exception  to  the  rule,  for  they  were  almost 
black. 

Leaving  the  old  bears  dead  upon  the 
ground,  Balser  and  his  father  hurried  down 
to  the  creek,  where  Mr.  Brent  washed  and 
dressed  his  son's  wounded  arm.  They  then 
marked  several  trees  upon  the  bank  of  the 
creek  by  breaking  twigs,  so  that  they  might 
be  able  to  find  the  bears  when  they  returned 
that  evening  with  the  horses  to  take  home 
the  meat  and  skins. 

All  this,  which  has  taken  so  long  to  tell, 
occurred  within  the  space  of  a  few  minutes; 
but  the  work  while  it  lasted  was  hard  and 
tiresome,  and,  although  it  was  but  a  short 
time  past  noon,  Balser  and  his  father  were 
only  too  glad  to  turn  their  faces  homeward, 


52      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

each  with  a  saucy  little  bear  cub  under  his 
arm. 

"As  we  have  killed  their  mother,"  said 
Balser,  referring  to  the  cubs,  "  we  must  take 
care  of  her  children  and  give  them  plenty  of 
milk,  and  bring  them  up  to  be  good,  honest 
bears." 

The  evening  of  the  same  day  Mr.  Brent 
and  a  few  of  his  neighbours  brought  home 
the  bear  meat  and  skins.  Balser  did  not  go 
with  his  father  because  his  arm  was  too  sore. 
He  was,  however,  very  proud  of  his  wound, 
and  thought  that  the  glory  of  the  day  and 
the  two  bear  cubs  were  purchased  cheaply 
enough  after  all. 


i 


"  Each  with  a  saucy  little  cub." 


CHAPTER    III. 

LOST   IN  THE   FOREST. 

BALSER'S  arm  mended  slowly,  for  it  had 
been  terribly  bitten  by  the  bear.  The 
heavy  sleeve  of  his  buckskin  jacket  had 
saved  him  from  a  wound  which  might  have 
crippled  him  for  life ;  but  the  hurt  was  bad 
enough  as  it  was,  and  Balser  passed  through 
many  days  and  nights  of  pain  before  it  was 
healed.  He  bore  the  suffering  like  a  little 
man,  however,  and  felt  very  "big"  as  he 
walked  about  with  his  arm  in  a  buckskin 
sling. 

Balser  was  impatient  that  he  could  not 
hunt;  but  he  spent  his  time  more  or  less 
satisfactorily  in  cleaning  and  polishing  his 
gun  and  playing  with  the  bear  cubs,  which  his 
little  brother  Jim  had  named  "  Tom "  and 
"  Jerry."  The  cubs  soon  became  wonder- 

53 


54      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

fully  tame,  and  drank  eagerly  from  a  pan  of 
milk.  They  were  too  small  to  know  how  to 
lap,  so  the  boys  put  their  hands  in  the  pan 
and  held  up  a  finger,  at  which  the  cubs 
sucked  lustily.  It  was  very  laughable  to 
see  the  little  round  black  fellows  nosing  in 
the  milk  for  the  finger.  And  sometimes 
they  would  bite,  too,  until  the  boys  would 
snatch  away  their  hands  and  soundly  box 
the  cubs  on  the  ears.  A  large  panful  of 
milk  would  disappear  before  you  could  say 
"  Christmas,"  and  the  bears'  silky  sides  would 
stand  out  as  big  and  round  as  a  pippin. 
The  boys  were  always  playing  pranks  upon 
the  cubs,  and  the  cubs  soon  learned  to 
retaliate.  They  would  climb  everywhere 
about  the  premises,  up  the  trees,  on  the 
roofs  of  the  barn  and  house,  and  over  the 
fence.  Their  great  delight  was  the  milk- 
house  and  kitchen,  where  they  had  their 
noses  into  everything,  and  made  life  miser 
able  for  Mrs.  Brent.  She  would  run  after 
them  with  her  broomstick  if  they  but  showed 
their  sharp  little  snouts  in  the  doorway. 


LOST   IN  THE  FOREST.  55 

Then  off  they  would  scamper,  yelping  as 
though  they  were  nearly  killed,  and  ponder 
upon  new  mischief.  They  made  themselves 
perfectly  at  home,  and  would  play  with  each 
other  like  a  pair  of  frisky  kittens,  rolling  over 
and  over  on  the  sod,  pretending  to  fight,  and 
whining  and  growling  as  if  they  were  angry 
in  real  earnest.  One  day  Balser  and  his 
little  brother  Jim  were  sitting  on  a  log,  which 
answered  the  purpose  of  a  settee,  under  the 
eaves  in  front  of  the  house.  The  boys  were 
wondering  what  had  become  of  Tom  and 
Jerry,  as  they  had  not  seen  them  for  an  hour 
or  more,  and  their  quietness  looked  suspi 
cious. 

"  I  wonder  if  those  cubs  have  run  away," 
said  Balser. 

"  No,"  said  Jim,  "  bet  they  won't  run  away ; 
they've  got  things  too  comfortable  here  to 
run  away.  Like  as  not  they're  off  some 
place  plannin'  to  get  even  with  us  because 
we  ducked  them  in  the  water  trough  awhile 
ago.  They  looked  awful  sheepish  when  they 
got  out,  and  as  they  went  off  together  I  jus' 


56      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 

thought  to  myself  they  were  goin'  away  to 
think  up  some  trick  on  us." 

Balser  and  Jim  were  each  busily  engaged 
eating  the  half  of  a  blackberry  pie.  The 
eave  of  the  house  was  not  very  high,  per 
haps  seven  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  Balser  and  Jim  were  sitting  under  it, 
holding  the  baby  and  eating  their  pie. 

Hardly  had  Jim  spoken  when  the  boys 
heard  a  scraping  sound  from  above,  then  a 
couple  of  sharp  little  yelps ;  and  down  came 
Tom  and  Jerry  from  the  roof,  striking  the 
boys  squarely  on  the  head. 

To  say  that  the  boys  were  frightened 
does  not  half  tell  it.  They  did  not  know 
what  had  happened.  They  fell  over,  and 
the  baby  dropped  to  the  ground  with  a 
cry  that  brought  her  mother  to  the  scene 
of  action  in  a  moment.  The  blackberry 
pie  had  in  some  way  managed  to  spread 
itself  all  over  the  baby's  face,  and  she  was 
a  very  comical  sight  when  her  mother  picked 
her  up. 

The  bears  had  retaliated  upon   the   boys 


LOST   IN  THE  FOREST.  57 

sooner  than  even  Jim  had  anticipated,  and 
they  all  had  a  great  laugh  over  it;  the 
bears  seeming  to  enjoy  it  more  than  any 
body  else.  The  boys  were  ready  to  admit 
that  the  joke  was  on  them,  so  they  took 
the  cubs  back  to  the  milk-house,  and  gave 
them  a  pan  of  rich  milk  as  a  peace-offer 
ing. 

The  scrapes  these  cubs  got  themselves 
and  the  boys  into  would  fill  a  large  vol 
ume;  but  I  cannot  tell  you  any  more 
about  them  now,  as  I  want  to  relate  an 
adventure  having  no  fun  in  it,  which  befell 
Balser  and  some  of  his  friends  soon  after 
his  arm  was  well. 

It  was  blackberry  time,  and  several  chil 
dren  had  come  to  Balser's  home  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  raid  upon  a  large 
patch  of  wild  blackberries  that  grew  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  a  half-hour's  walk 
from  Mr.  Brent's  cabin. 

Soon  after  daybreak  one  morning,  the 
little  party,  consisting  of  Balser  and  Jim, 
Tom  Fox  and  his  sister  Liney  (which  is 


58      THE   BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 

"short"  for  Pau-/z-ne),  and  three  children 
from  the  family  of  Mr.  Neigh,  paddled  across 
the  river  in  a  canoe  which  Balser  and  his 
father  had  made  from  a  large  gum  log, 
and  started  westward  for  the  blackberry 
patch. 

Tom  and  Jerry  had  noticed  the  prepara 
tions  for  the  journey  with  considerable 
curiosity,  and  felt  very  much  hurt  that 
they  were  not  to  be  taken  along.  But 
they  were  left  behind,  imprisoned  in  a  pen 
which  the  boys  had  built  for  them,  and 
their  whines  and  howls  of  complaint  at 
such  base  treatment  could  be  heard  until  the 
children  were  well  out  of  sight  of  the  house. 

The  party  hurried  along  merrily,  little 
thinking  that  their  journey  home  would  be 
one  of  sadness;  and  soon  they  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  blackberries,  picking  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  and  filling  their  gourds  with 
the  delicious  fruit. 

They  worked  hard  all  the  morning,  and 
the  deerskin  sacks  which  they  had  brought 
with  them  were  nearly  full. 


LOST  IN   THE  FOREST.  59 

Toward  noon  the  children  became  hun 
gry,  and  without  a  dissenting  voice  agreed 
to  eat  dinner. 

They  had  taken  with  them  for  lunch  a 
loaf  of  bread  and  a  piece  of  cold  venison, 
but  Balser  suggested  that  he  should  go  into 
the  woods  and  find  a  squirrel  or  two  to  help 
out  their  meal.  In  the  meantime  Tom  Fox 
had  started  out  upon  a  voyage  of  discovery, 
hoping  that  he,  too,  might  contribute  to  the 
larder. 

In  a  few  minutes  Balser's  gun  was  heard 
at  a  distance,  and  then  again  and  again, 
and  soon  he  was  back  in  camp  with  three 
fat  squirrels. 

Almost  immediately  after  him  came  Tom 
Fox  carrying  something  in  his  coonskin 
cap. 

"  What  have  you  there,  Limpy  ? "  cried 
Liney. 

The  children  called  Tom  "  Limpy "  be 
cause  he  always  had  a  sore  toe  or  a  stone 
bruise  on  his  heel. 

"  You'll    never    guess,"    answered    Tom, 


60      THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

All  the  children  took  a  turn  at  guessing, 
and  then  gave  it  up. 

"Turkey  eggs,"  said  Tom.  "We'll  have 
eggs  as  well  as  squirrel  for  dinner  to-day." 

"  How  will  you  cook  them  ? "  asked  one 
of  the  Neigh  children. 

"  I'll  show  you,"  answered  Tom. 

So  now  they  were  guessing  how  Limpy 
would  cook  the  eggs,  but  he  would  not  tell 
them,  and  they  had  to  give  it  up. 

The  boys  then  lighted  a  fire  from  the 
flint-lock  on  the  gun,  and  Balser,  having 
dressed  the  squirrel,  cut  twigs  as  he  had 
done  when  he  and  his  father  dined  on 
Conn's  Creek,  and  soon  pieces  of  tender 
squirrel  were  roasting  near  the  flame,  giving 
forth  a  most  tempting  odour. 

In  the  meantime  Limpy  had  gone  away, 
and  none  of  the  children  knew  where  he  was, 
or  what  he  was  doing. 

Soon,  however,  he  returned  bearing  a 
large  flat  rock  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diame 
ter,  and  two  or  three  inches  thick.  This 
rock  he  carefully  washed  and  scrubbed  in 


Down  came  Tom  and  Jerry  from  the  roof." 


LOST   IN   THE   FOREST.  61 

a  spring,  until  it  was  perfectly  clean.  He 
then  took  coals  from  the  fire  which  Balser 
had  kindled,  and  soon  had  a  great  fire  of 
his  own,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  the  stone. 
After  the  blaze  had  died  down,  he  made  a 
bed  of  hot  coals  on  which,  by  means  of  a 
couple  of  sticks,  he  placed  the  rock,  and  then 
dusted  away  the  ashes. 

44  Now  do  you  know  how  I'm  going  to 
cook  the  eggs  ? "  he  asked. 

They,  of  course,  all  knew ;  and  the  girls 
greased  the  rock  with  the  fat  of  the  squirrel, 
broke  the  eggs,  and  allowed  them  to  fall  upon 
the  hot  stone,  where  they  were  soon  thor 
oughly  roasted,  and  the  children  had  a  deli 
cious  meal.  After  dinner  they  sat  in  the  cool 
shade  of  the  tree  under  which  they  dined, 
and  told  stories  and  asked  riddles  for  an 
hour  or  two  before  they  again  began  berry- 
picking.  Then  they  worked  until  about  six 
o'clock,  and  stopped  to  have  another  play 
before  returning  home. 

They  played  4t  Ring  around  a  rosey," 
44  Squat  where  ye  be,"  44  Wolf,"  44  Dirty  dog/1 


62      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 

and  then  wound  up  with  the  only  never- 
grow-old,  "  Hide-and-seek." 

The  children  hid  behind  logs  and  trees, 
and  in  dense  clumps  of  bushes.  The  boys 
would  often  climb  trees,  when,  if  "caught," 
the  one  who  was  "it"  was  sure  to  run 
"home"  before  the  hider  could  slide  half 
way  down  his  tree.  Now  and  then  a  hol 
low  tree  was  found,  and  that,  of  course,  was 
the  best  hiding-place  of  all. 

Beautiful  little  Liney  Fox  found  one  hol 
low  tree  too  many;  and  as  long  as  they 
lived  all  the  children  of  the  party  remem 
bered  it  and  the  terrible  events  that  followed 
her  discovery.  She  was  seeking  a  place  to 
hide,  and  had  hurried  across  a  small  open 
space  to  conceal  herself  behind  a  huge  syca 
more  tree.  When  she  reached  the  tree  and 
went  around  it  to  hide  upon  the  opposite 
side,  she  found  it  was  hollow  at  the  root. 

Balser  was  "  it,"  and  with  his  eyes  "  hid  " 
was  counting  one  hundred  as  rapidly  and 
loudly  as  he  could.  He  had  got  to  sixty, 
he  afterward  said,  when  a  shriek  reached 


LOST   IN   THE  FOREST.  63 

his  ears.  This  was  when  Liney  found  the 
hollow  tree.  Balser  at  once  knew  that  it 
was  Liney 's  voice ;  for,  although  he  was  but 
a  little  fellow,  he  was  quite  old  enough  to 
have  admired  Liney's  exquisite  beauty,  and 
to  have  observed  that  she  was  as  kind  and 
gentle  and  good  as  she  was  pretty. 

So  what  wonder  that  Balser,  whom  she 
openly  claimed  as  her  best  friend,  should 
share  not  only  in  the  general  praise,  but 
should  have  a  boy's  admiration  for  her  all 
his  own  ? 

In  persons  accustomed  to  exercise  the 
alertness  which  is  necessary  for  a  good 
hunter,  the  sense  of  locating  the  direction 
and  position  from  which  a  sound  proceeds 
becomes  highly  developed,  and  as  Balser 
had  been  hunting  almost  ever  since  he  was 
large  enough  to  walk,  he  knew  instantly 
where  Liney  was. 

He  hurriedly  pushed  his  way  through  the 
bushes,  and  in  a  moment  reached  the  open 
space  of  ground,  perhaps  one  hundred  yards 
across,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  stood 


64      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

the  tree  that  Liney  had  found.  Some  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  beyond  the  tree  stood  Liney. 
She  was  so  frightened  that  she  could  not 
move,  and  apparently  had  become  powerless 
to  scream. 

Balser  hastened  toward  her  at  his  utmost 
speed,  and  when  he  reached  a  point  from 
which  he  could  see  the  hollow  side  of  the 
tree,  imagine  his  horror  and  fright  upon 
beholding  an  enormous  bear  emerging  from 
the  opening.  The  bear  started  slowly  toward 
the  girl,  who  seemed  unable  to  move. 

"  Run,  Liney !  run  for  your  life ! "  screamed 
Balser,  who  fearlessly  rushed  toward  the 
bear  to  attract  its  attention  from  the  girl, 
and  if  possible  to  bring  it  in  pursuit  of 
himself. 

"  I  just  felt,"  said  Balser  afterward,  "  that  I 
wanted  to  lie  down  and  let  the  bear  eat  me 
at  once  if  I  could  only  keep  it  away  from 
Liney.  I  shouted  and  threw  clods  and 
sticks  at  it,  but  on  it  went  toward  her.  I 
reckon  it  thought  she  was  the  nicest  and 
preferred  her  to  me.  It  was  right,  too,  for 


LOST   IN   THE   FOREST.  65 

she  was  a  heap  the  nicest,  and  I  didn't  blame 
the  bear  for  wanting  her. 

"  Again  I  shouted,  '  Run,  Liney  !  run  ! ' 
My  voice  seemed  to  waken  her,  and  she 
started  to  run  as  fast  as  she  could  go,  with 
the  bear  after  her,  and  I  after  the  bear  as  fast 
as  I  could  go.  I  was  shouting  and  doing  my 
best  to  make  the  bear  run  after  me  instead 
of  Liney ;  but  it  kept  right  on  after  her,  and 
she  kept  on  running  faster  and  faster  into  the 
dark  woods.  In  a  short  time  I  caught  up 
with  the  bear,  and  kicked  it  on  the  side  as 
hard  as  I  could  kick.  That  made  it  mad, 
and  it  turned  upon  me  with  a  furious  growl, 
as  much  as  to  say  that  it  would  settle  with 
me  pretty  quick  and  then  get  Liney.  After 
I  had  kicked  it  I  started  to  run  toward  my 
gun,  which  was  over  by  the  blackberry 
patch.  For  a  while  I  could  hear  the  bear 
growling  and  puffing  right  at  my  heels,  and 
it  made  me  just  fly,  you  may  be  sure.  I 
never  ran  so  fast  in  all  my  life,  for  I  knew 
that  I  could  not  hold  out  long  against  the 
bear,  and  that  if  I  didn't  get  my  gun  quick 


66      THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

he  would  surely  get  me.  I  did  not  care 
as  much  as  you  might  think,  nor  was  I 
very  badly  frightened,  for  I  was  so  glad  I 
had  saved  Liney.  But  naturally  I  wanted  to 
save  myself  too,  if  possible,  so,  as  I  have  said, 
I  ran  as  I  never  ran  before  —  or  since,  for 
that  matter. 

"  Soon  the  growls  of  the  bear  began  to 
grow  indistinct,  and  presently  they  ceased 
and  I  thought  I  had  left  it  behind.  So  I 
kept  on  running  toward  my  gun,  and  never 
stopped  to  look  back  until  I  heard  another 
scream  from  Liney.  Then  I  looked  behind 
me,  and  saw  that  the  bear  had  turned  and 
was  again  after  her,  although  she  was  quite 
a  distance  ahead  of  it. 

"  I  thought  at  first  that  I  should  turn  back 
and  kick  the  bear  again,  and  just  lie  down 
and  let  it  eat  me  if  nothing  else  would 
satisfy  it;  but  I  was  so  near  my  gun  that 
I  concluded  to  get  it  and  then  hurry  back 
and  shoot  the  bear  instead  of  kicking  it. 

"  I  heard  Liney  scream  again  and  heard 
her  call  '  B-a-1-s-e-r,'  and  that  made  me  run 


LOST   IN   THE  FOREST.  67 

even  faster  than  the  bear  had  made  me  go. 
It  was  but  a  few  seconds  until  I  had  my  gun 
and  had  started  back  to  help  Liney. 

"  Soon  I  was  at  the  hollow  sycamore,  but 
the  bushes  into  which  Liney  had  run  were 
so  thick  and  dark  that  I  could  see  neither 
her  nor  the  bear.  I  quickly  ran  into  the 
woods  where  I  thought  Liney  had  gone, 
and  when  I  was  a  little  way  into  the  thicket 
I  called  to  her,  but  she  did  not  answer. 
I  then  went  on,  following  the  track  of 
the  bear  as  well  as  I  could.  Bears,  you 
know,  have  long  flat  feet  that  do  not  sink 
into  the  ground  and  leave  a  distinct  track 
like  a  deer's  foot  does,  so  I  soon  lost  the 
bear  tracks  and  did  not  know  which  way 
to  go. 

"  I  kept  going,  however,  calling  loudly 
for  Liney  every  now  and  then,  and  soon 
I  was  so  deep  into  the  forest  that  it  seemed 
almost  night.  I  could  not  see  far  in  any 
direction  on  account  of  the  thick  under 
brush,  and  at  a  little  distance  objects  ap 
peared  indistinct.  On  I  went,  knowing 


68      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

not  where,  calling  *  Liney !  Liney  ! '  at  nearly 
every  step;  but  I  heard  no  answer,  and 
it  seemed  that  I  liked  Liney  Fox  better 
than  anybody  in  all  the  world,  and  would 
have  given  my  life  to  save  her." 

After  Balser  had  gone  into  the  woods 
to  help  Liney  the  other  children  gathered 
in  a  frightened  group  about  the  tree  under 
which  they  had  eaten  dinner.  There  they 
waited  in  the  greatest  anxiety  and  fear  until 
the  sun  had  almost  sunk  below  the  hori 
zon,  but  Balser  and  Liney  did  not  return. 
Shortly  before  dark  the  children  started 
homeward,  very  heavy-hearted  and  sorrow 
ful,  you  may  be  sure.  When  they  reached 
the  river  they  paddled  across  and  told  Mr. 
Brent  that  Balser  and  Liney  were  lost  in  the 
woods,  and  that  when  last  seen  a  huge  bear 
was  in  pursuit  of  Liney.  Balser's  father 
lost  not  a  moment,  but  ran  to  a  hill  near 
the  house,  upon  the  top  of  which  stood  a 
large  stack  of  dry  grass,  leaves,  and  wood, 
placed  there  for  the  purpose  of  signalling 
the  neighbours  in  case  of  distress.  He  at 


LOST  IN  THE  FOREST.  69 

once  put  fire  to  the  dry  grass,  and  soon 
there  was  a  blaze,  the  light  from  which 
could  be  seen  for  miles  around. 

Mr.  Brent  immediately  crossed  the  river, 
and  leaving  Tom  Fox  behind  to  guide  the 
neighbours,  walked  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
the  place  where  Balser  and  Liney  had  last 
been  seen.  He  took  with  him  the  dogs,  and 
a  number  of  torches  which  he  intended  to 
light  from  a  tinder-box  if  he  should  need 
them. 

The  neighbours  soon  hurried  to  the  Brent 
home  in  response  to  the  fire  signal,  and 
several  of  them  started  out  to  rescue  the 
children,  if  possible.  If  help  were  to  be 
given,  it  must  be  done  at  once.  A  night  in 
the  woods  meant  almost  certain  death  to  the 
boy  and  girl ;  for,  besides  bears  and  wolves, 
there  had  been  for  several  weeks  a  strolling 
band  of  Indians  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Although  the  Indians  were  not  brave 
enough  to  attack  a  settlement,  they  would 
be  only  too  ready  to  steal  the  children,  did 
they  but  have  the  opportunity. 


70      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

These  Indians  slept  all  day  in  dark, 
secluded  spots,  and  roamed  about  at  night, 
visiting  the  houses  of  the  settlers  under 
cover  of  darkness,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
off  anything  of  value  upon  which  they  could 
lay  their  hands.  Recently  several  houses 
had  been  burned,  and  some  twenty  miles  up 
the  river  a  woman  had  been  found  murdered 
near  the  bank.  Two  children  were  missing 
from  another  house,  and  a  man  while  out 
hunting  had  been  shot  by  an  unseen  enemy. 

These  outrages  were  all  justly  attributed  to 
the  Indians;  and  if  they  should  meet  Balser 
and  Liney  in  the  lonely  forest,  Heaven  itself 
only  knew  what  might  become  of  the  chil 
dren, —  a  bear  would  be  a  more  merciful 
enemy. 

All  night  Mr.  Brent  and  the  neighbours 
searched  the  forest  far  and  near. 

Afterward  Balser  told  the  story  of  that 
terrible  night,  and  I  will  let  him  speak :  — 

"  I  think  it  was  after  six  o'clock  when   I 

went  into  the  woods  in  pursuit  of  Liney  and 

/       the  bear.     It  was  almost  dark  at  that  time  in 


LOST  IN  THE  FOREST.  71 

the  forest,  and  a  little  later,  when  the  sun  had 
gone  down  and  a  fine  drizzle  of  rain  had 
begun  to  fall,  the  forest  was  so  black  that 
once  I  ran  against  a  small  tree  because  I  did 
not  see  it. 

"  I  wandered  about  for  what  seemed  a  very 
long  time,  calling  for  Liney;  then  I  grew 
hopeless  and  began  to  realize  that  I  was  lost. 
I  could  not  tell  from  which  direction  I  had 
come,  nor  where  I  was  going.  Everything 
looked  alike  all  about  me — a  deep,  black  bank 
of  nothing,  and  a  nameless  fear  stole  over  me. 
I  had  my  gun,  but  of  what  use  was  it,  when 
I  could  not  see  my  hand  before  me  ?  Now 
and  then  I  heard  wolves  howling,  and  it 
seemed  that  their  voices  came  from  every 
direction.  Once  a  black  shadow  ran  by  me 
with  a  snarl  and  a  snap,  and  I  expected  every 
moment  to  have  the  hungry  pack  upon  me, 
and  to  be  torn  into  pieces.  What  if  they 
should  attack  Liney  ?  The  thought  almost 
drove  me  wild. 

"  I  do  not  know  how  long  I  had  wandered 
through  the  forest,  but  it  must  have  been 


72      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

eight  or  nine  hours,  when  I  came  to  the 
river.  I  went  to  the  water's  edge  and 
put  my  hand  in  the  stream  to  learn  which 
way  the  current  ran,  for  I  was  so  confused 
and  so  entirely  lost  that  I  did  not  know 
which  direction  was  down-stream.  I  found 
that  the  water  was  running  toward  my  right, 
and  then  I  climbed  back  to  the  bank  and 
stood  in  helpless  confusion  for  a  few  minutes. 
"  Nothing  could  be  gained  by  standing 
there  watching  the  water,  like  a  fish-hawk,  so 
I  walked  slowly  down  the  river.  I  had  been 
going  down-stream  for  perhaps  twenty  min 
utes,  when  I  saw  a  tall  man  come  out  of 
the  woods,  a  few  yards  ahead  of  me,  and 
walk  rapidly  toward  the  river  bank.  He 
carried  something  on  his  shoulder,  as  a  man 
would  carry  a  sack  of  wheat,  and  when  he 
had  reached  the  river  bank,  where  there  was 
more  light,  I  could  see  from  his  dress  that 
he  was  an  Indian.  I  could  not  tell  what  it 
was  he  carried,  but  in  a  moment  I  thought 
of  Liney  and  ran  toward  him.  I  reached 
the  place  where  he  had  gone  down  the  bank 


LOST  IN  THE  FOREST.  73 

just  in  time  to  see  him  place  his  burden  in 
a  canoe.  He  himself  was  on  the  point  of 
stepping  in  when  I  called  to  him  to  stop, 
and  told  him  I  would  shoot  him  if  he  did 
not.  My  fright  was  gone  in  an  instant,  and 
I  would  not  have  feared  all  the  lions,  bears, 
and  Indians  that  roamed  the  wilderness. 
I  had  but  one  thought  —  to  save  Liney,  and 
something  told  me  that  she  lay  at  the  other 
end  of  the  canoe. 

"  The  open  space  of  the  river  made  it  light 
enough  for  me  to  see  the  Indian,  and  I  was 
so  close  to  him  that  even  in  the  darkness 
I  could  not  miss  my  aim.  In  place  of  an 
swering  my  call,  he  glanced  hurriedly  at  me, 
in  surprise,  and  quickly  lifted  his  gun  to 
shoot  me.  But  I  was  quicker  than  he,  and 
I  fired  first.  The  Indian  dropped  his  gun 
and  plunged  into  the  river.  I  did  not  know 
whether  he  had  jumped  or  fallen  in,  but  he 
immediately  sank.  I  thought  I  saw  his  head 
a  moment  afterward  above  the  surface  of  the 
water  near  the  opposite  bank,  and  I  do  not 
know  to  this  day  whether  or  not  I  killed 


74      THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

him.  At  the  time  I  did  not  care,  for  the 
one  thing  on  my  mind  was  to  rescue  Liney. 

"I  did  not  take  long  to  climb  into  the 
canoe,  and  sure  enough  there  she  was  at  the 
other  end.  I  had  not  taken  the  precaution 
to  tie  the  boat  to  the  bank,  and  I  was  so 
overjoyed  at  finding  Liney,  and  was  so  eager 
in  my  effort  to  lift  her,  and  to  learn  if  she 
were  dead  or  alive,  that  I  upset  the  unsteady 
thing.  I  thought  we  should  both  drown 
before  we  could  get  out,  for  Liney  was  as 
helpless  as  if  she  were  dead,  which  I  thought 
was  really  the  case. 

"  After  a  hard  struggle  I  reached  shallow 
water  and  carried  Liney  to  the  top  of  the 
bank.  I  laid  her  on  the  ground,  and  took 
away  the  piece  of  wood  which  the  Indian 
had  tied  between  her  teeth  to  keep  her  from 
crying  out.  Then  I  rubbed  her  hands  and 
face  and  rolled  her  over  and  over  until  she 
came  to.  After  a  while  she  raised  her  head 
and  opened  her  eyes,  and  looked  about  her 
as  if  she  were  in  a  dream. 

* "  Oh,  Balser ! '  she  cried,  and  then  fainted 


Tige  and  Prince  swimming  about  the  Canoe. 


LOST  IN  THE  FOREST.  75 

away  again.  I  thought  she  was  dead  this 
time  sure,  and  was  in  such  agony  that  I 
could  not  even  feel.  Hardly  knowing  what 
I  was  doing,  I  picked  her  up  to  carry  her 
home,  dead  —  as  I  supposed.  I  had  carried 
her  for  perhaps  half  an  hour,  when,  becom 
ing  very  tired,  I  stopped  to  rest.  Then 
Liney  wakened  up  again,  and  I  put  her 
down.  But  she  could  not  stand,  and,  of 
course,  could  not  walk. 

"  She  told  me  that  after  she  had  run  into 
the  woods  away  from  the  bear,  she  became 
frightened  and  was  soon  lost.  She  had 
wandered  aimlessly  about  for  a  long  time, 
how  long  she  did  not  know,  but  it  seemed 
ages.  She  had  been  so  terrified  by  the 
wolves  and  by  the  darkness,  that  she  was 
almost  unconscious,  and  hardly  knew  what 
she  was  doing.  She  said  that  every  now 
and  then  she  had  called  my  name,  for  she 
knew  that  I  would  try  to  follow  her.  Her 
calling  for  me  had  evidently  attracted  the 
Indian,  whom  she  had  met  after  she  had 
been  in  the  woods  a  very  long  time. 


76      THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER. 

"The  Indian  seized  her,  and  placed  the 
piece  of  wood  between  her  teeth  to  keep  her 
from  screaming.  He  then  threw  her  over 
his  shoulder,  and  she  remembered  very  little 
of  what  happened  after  that  until  she  was 
awakened  in  the  canoe  by  the  flash  and  the 
report  of  my  gun.  She  said  that  she  knew 
at  once  I  had  come,  and  then  she  knew  noth 
ing  more  until  she  awakened  on  the  bank. 
She  did  not  know  of  <the  upsetting  of  the 
canoe,  nor  of  my  struggle  in  the  water,  but 
when  I  told  her  about  it,  she  said :  — 

" '  Balser,  you've  saved  my  life  three  times 
in  one  night.' 

"  Then  I  told  her  that  I  would  carry  her 
home.  She  did  not  want  me  too,  though, 
and  tried  to  walk,  but  could  not;  so  I 
picked  her  up  and  started  homeward. 

"Just  then  I  happened  to  look  toward  the 
river  and  saw  the  Indian's  canoe  floating 
down-stream,  bottom  upward.  I  saw  at 
once  that  here  was  an  opportunity  for  us  to 
ride  home,  so  I  put  Liney  down,  took  off  my 
wet  jacket  and  moccasins,  and  swam  out  to 


LOST  IN  THE  FOREST.  77 

the  canoe.  After  I  had  drawn  it  to  the  bank 
and  had  turned  out  the  water,  I  laid  Liney 
at  the  bow,  found  a  pole  with  which  to  guide 
the  canoe,  climbed  in  myself,  and  pushed  off. 
We  floated  very  slowly,  but,  slow  as  it  was, 
it  was  a  great  deal  better  than  having  to 
walk. 

"It  was  just  beginning  to  be  daylight  when 
I  heard  the  barking  of  dogs.  I  would 
have  known  their  voices  among  ten  thou 
sand,  for  they  were  as  familiar  to  me 
as  the  voice  of  my  mother.  It  was  dear 
old  Tige  and  Prince,  and  never  in  my  life 
was  any  voice  more  welcome  to  my  ears 
than  that  sweet  sound.  I  whistled  shrilly 
between  my  fingers,  and  soon  the  faithful 
animals  came  rushing  out  of  the  woods  and 
plunged  into  the  water,  swimming  about  us 
as  if  they  knew  as  well  as  a  man  could  have 
known  what  they  and  their  master  had  been 
looking  for  all  night."  Balser's  father  had 
followed  closely  upon  the  dogs,  and  within 
an  hour  the  children  were  home  amid  the 
wildest  rejoicing  you  ever  heard. 


78      THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

When  Liney  became  stronger  she  told 
how  she  had  seen  the  hollow  in  the  syca 
more  tree,  and  had  hurried  toward  it  to 
hide;  and  how,  just  as  she  was  about  to 
enter  the  hollow  tree,  a  huge  bear  raised 
upon  its  haunches  and  thrust  its  nose  al 
most  in  her  face.  She  said  that  the  bear  haa 
followed  her  for  a  short  distance,  and  then 
for  some  reason  had  given  up  the  chase. 
Her  recollection  of  everything  that  had 
happened  was  confused  and  indistinct,  but 
one  little  fact  she  remembered  with  a  clear 
ness  that  was  very  curious :  the  bear,  she 
said,  had  but  one  ear. 

When  Balser  heard  this,  he  arose  to  his 
feet,  and  gave  notice  to  all  persons  present 
that  there  would  soon  be  a  bear  funeral, 
and  that  a  one-eared  bear  would  be  at  the 
head  of  the  procession.  He  would  have 
the  other  ear  of  that  bear  if  he  had  to 
roam  the  forest  until  he  was  an  old  man 
to  find  it. 

How  he  got  it,  and  how  it  got  him,  I 
will  tell  you  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR. 

"  You,  Tom !  You,  Jerry !  come  here ! " 
called  Balser  one  morning,  while  he  and 
Jim  were  sitting  in  the  shade  near  the 
river  in  front  of  the  house,  overseeing  the 
baby. 

"  You,  Tom !  You,  Jerry !  "  called  Balser 
a  second  time  with  emphasis.  The  cubs, 
snoozing  in  the  sun  a  couple  of  paces  away, 
rolled  lazily  over  two  or  three  times  in  an 
effort  to  get  upon  their  feet,  and  then  trotted 
to  their  masters  with  a  comical,  waddling 
gait  that  always  set  the  boys  laughing, —  it 
was  such  a  swagger. 

When  they  had  come,  Balser  said, 
"  Stop  right  there ! "  and  the  cubs,  being 
always  tired,  gladly  enough  sat  upon  their 
haunches,  and  blinked  sleepily  into  Balser's 

79 


80      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

face,  with  a  greedy  expression  upon  their 
own,  as  if  to  say,  "  Well,  where 's  the  milk  ?  " 

"  Milk,  is  it  ?  "  asked  Balser.  "  You're  al 
ways  hungry.  You're  nothing  but  a  pair 
of  gluttons.  Eat,  eat,  from  morning  until 
night.  Well,  this  time  you'll  get  nothing. 
There's  no  milk  for  you." 

The  cubs  looked  disgusted,  so  Jim  said, 
and  no  doubt  he  was  right,  for  Jim  and 
the  cubs  were  great  friends  and  understood 
each  other  thoroughly. 

"  Now,  I've  been  a  good  father  to  you," 
said  Balser.  "  I've  always  given  you  as 
much  milk  as  you  could  hold,  without 
bursting,  and  have  tried  to  bring  you  up 
to  be  good  respectable  bears,  and  to  do 
my  duty  by  you.  I  have  whipped  you 
whenever  you  needed  it,  although  it  often 
hurt  me  worse  than  it  did  you." 

The  bears  grunted,  as  if  to  say :  "  But 
not  in  the  same  place." 

"  Now  what  I  want,"  continued  Balser, 
regardless  of  the  interruption,  "  is,  that 
you  tell  me  what  you  know,  if  anything, 


THE    ONE-EARED    BEAR.  81 

concerning  a  big  one-eared  bear  that  lives 
hereabouts.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  him  ? " 

Tom  gave  a  grunt,  and  Jim,  who  had 
been  studying  bear  language,  said  he  meant 
"  Yes." 

Jerry  then  put  his  nose  to  Tom's  ear, 
and  whined  something  in  a  low  voice. 

"  What  does  he  say,  Jim  ?  "  asked  Balser. 

"  He  says  for  Tom  not  to  tell  you  any 
thing  until  you  promise  to  give  them  milk," 
answered  Jim,  seriously. 

"Jerry,  you're  the  greatest  glutton  alive, 
I  do  believe,"  said  Balser ;  "  but  if  you'll 
tell  me  anything  worth  knowing  about  the 
one-eared  bear,  I'll  give  you  the  biggest 
pan  of  milk  you  ever  saw." 

Jerry  in  his  glee  took  two  or  three  fancy 
steps,  awkwardly  fell  over  himself  a  couple 
of  times,  got  up,  and  grunted  to  Tom  to  go 
ahead.  Jim  was  the  interpreter,  and  Tom 
grunted  and  whined  away,  in  a  mighty  effort 
to  earn  the  milk. 

"The  one-eared  bear,"  said  he,  "is  my 
uncle.  Used  to  hear  dad  and  mother  talk 


82      THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

about  him.  Dad  bit  his  ear  off.  That's 
how  he  came  to  have  only  one.  Dad  and 
he  fought  about  mother,  and  when  dad 
bit  uncle's  ear  off  mother  went  with  dad 
and  wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
other  fellow.  Couldn't  abide  a  one-eared 
husband,  she  said." 

"  That's  interesting,"  answered  Balser. 
"Where  does  he  live?" 

Tom  pointed  his  nose  toward  the  north 
west,  and  opened  his  mouth  very  wide. 

"  Up  that  way  in  a  cave,"  interpreted  Jim, 
pointing  as  the  cub  had  indicated. 

"  How  far  is  it  ? "  asked  Balser. 

Jerry  lay  down  and  rolled  over  twice. 

"Two  hours'  walk,"  said  Jim. 

"  How  shall  I  find  the  place  ? "  asked 
Balser. 

Tom  stood  upon  his  hind  legs,  and 
scratched  the  bark  of  a  tree  with  his  fore 
paws  as  high  as  he  could  reach. 

"Of  course,"  said  Balser,  "by  the  bear 
scratches  on  the  trees.  I  understand." 

Jerry  grunted  "milk,"  so   Jim   said,  and 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  83 

the  whole  party,  boys,  bears,  and  babyi 
moved  off  to  the  milk-house,  where  the 
cubs  had  a  great  feast. 

After  the  milk  had  disappeared,  Jerry 
grew  talkative,  and  grunted  away  like  the 
satisfied  little  pig  that  he  was. 

Again  Jim,  with  a  serious  face,  acted  as 
interpreter. 

"  Mighty  bad  bear,"  said  Jerry.  "  Soured 
on  the  world  since  mother  threw  him  over. 
Won't  have  anything  to  do  with  anybody. 
He's  as  big  and  strong  as  a  horse,  fierce 
as  a  lion,  and  meaner  than  an  Injun.  He's 
bewitched,  too,  with  an  evil  spirit,  and 
nobody  can  ever  kill  him." 

"  That's  the  name  he  has  among  white 
folks,"  remarked  Balser. 

"  Better  be  careful  when  you  hunt  him, 
for  he's  killed  more  men  and  boys  than 
you  have  fingers  and  toes,"  said  Tom.  Then 
the  cubs,  being  full  of  milk  and  drowsy, 
stretched  themselves  out  in  the  sun,  and 
no  amount  of  persuasion  could  induce  them 
to  utter  another  grunt. 


84      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

The  bears  had  told  the  truth  —  that  is,  if 
they  had  told  anything;  for  since  it  had 
been  learned  throughout  the  settlement  that 
it  was  a  one-eared  bear  which  had  pursued 
Liney,  many  stories  had  been  told  of  hair 
breadth  escapes  and  thrilling  adventures  with 
that  same  fierce  prowler  of  the  woods. 

One  hunter  said  that  he  had  shot  at  him 
as  many  as  twenty  times,  at  short  range,  but 
for  all  he  knew,  had  never  even  wounded 
him. 

The  one-eared  bear  could  not  be  caught 
by  any  means  whatsoever.  He  had  broken 
many  traps,  and  had  stolen  bait  so  frequently 
from  others,  that  he  was  considered  alto 
gether  too  knowing  for  a  natural  bear;  and 
it  was  thought  that  he  was  inhabited  by  an 
evil  spirit  which  gave  him  supernatural 
powers. 

He  certainly  was  a  very  shrewd  old  fellow, 
and  very  strong  and  fierce  ;  and  even  among 
those  of  the  settlers  who  were  not  supersti 
tious  enough  to  believe  that  he  was  inhab 
ited  by  an  evil  spirit,  he  was  looked  upon  as 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  85 

a  "  rogue  "  bear ;  that  is,  a  sullen,  morose  old 
fellow,  who  lived  by  himself,  as  old  bachelors 
live.  The  bachelors,  though,  being  men, 
should  know  better  and  act  more  wisely. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  evil  reports  con 
cerning  the  one-eared  bear,  Balser  clung  to 
his  resolution  to  hunt  the  bear,  to  kill  him 
if  possible,  and  to  give  Liney  the  remaining 
ear  as  a  keepsake. 

Balser's  father  knew  that  it  was  a  perilous 
undertaking,  and  tried  to  persuade  the  boy 
to  hunt  some  less  dangerous  game ;  but  he 
would  not  listen  to  any  of  the  warnings,  and 
day  by  day  longed  more  ardently  for  the 
blood  of  the  one-eared  bear. 

So  one  morning  shortly  after  the  conver 
sation  with  the  cubs,  Balser  shouldered 
his  gun  and  set  out  toward  the  northwest, 
accompanied  by  Limpy  Fox  and  the  dogs. 

In  truth,  the  expedition  had  been  delayed 
that  Limpy 's  sore  toe  might  heal.  That  was 
one  of  Liney's  jokes. 

Limpy  had  no  gun,  but  he  fairly  bristled 
with  knives  and  a  hatchet,  which  for  several 


86      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

days  he  had  been  grinding  and  whetting 
until  they  were  almost  as  sharp  as  a  razor. 

The  boys  roamed  through  the  forest  all 
day  long,  but  found  no  trace  of  the  one-eared 
bear,  nor  of  any  other,  for  that  matter.  So 
toward  evening  they  turned  their  faces  home 
ward,  where  they  arrived  soon  after  sunset, 
very  tired  and  hungry. 

Liney  had  walked  over  to  Balser's  house 
to  learn  the  fate  of  the  one-eared  bear,  and 
fully  expected  to  hear  that  he  had  been 
slaughtered,  for  she  looked  upon  Balser  as 
a  second  Saint  Hubert,  who,  as  you  know, 
is  the  patron  saint  of  hunters. 

One  failure,  however,  did  not  shake  her 
faith  in  Balser,  nor  did  it  affect  his  resolution 
to  kill  the  one-eared  bear. 

Next  day  the  boys  again  went  hunting, 
and  again  failed  to  find  the  bear  they  sought. 
They  then  rested  for  a  few  days,  and  tried 
again,  with  still  another  failure. 

After  several  days  of  fruitless  tramping 
through  the  forests,  their  friends  began  to 
laugh  at  them. 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  87 

"  If  he  ever  catches  sight  of  Tom,"  said 
Liney,  "  he'll  certainly  die,  for  Tom's  knives 
and  hatchet  would  frighten  any  bear  to  death." 

Balser  also  made  sport  of  Tom's  arma 
ment,  but  Tom,  a  little  "miffed,"  said:  — 

"  You  needn't  be  so  smart ;  it  hasn't  been 
long  since  you  had  nothing  but  a  hatchet. 
You  think  because  you've  got  a  gun  you're 
very  big  and  cute.  I'll  bet  the  time  will 
come  when  you'll  be  glad  enough  that  I 
have  a  hatchet." 

Tom  was  a  truer  prophet  than  he  thought, 
for  the  day  soon  came  when  the  hatchet 
proved  itself  true  steel. 

The  boys  had  started  out  before  sun-up 
one  morning,  and  were  deep  into  the  forest 
when  daylight  was  fairly  abroad.  Tige  and 
Prince  were  with  them,  and  were  trotting 
lazily  along  at  the  boys'  heels,  for  the  day 
was  very  warm,  and  there  was  no  breeze  in 
the  forest.  They  had  been  walking  for 
several  hours,  and  had  almost  lost  hope, 
when  suddenly  a  deep  growl  seemed  to  come 
from  the  ground  almost  at  their  feet.  The 


88      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

boys  sprang  back  in  a  hurry,  for  right  in 
their  path  stood  an  enormous  bear,  where  a 
moment  before  there  had  been  nothing. 

"  Lordy !  it's  the  one-eared  bear,"  cried 
Tom,  and  the  hairs  on  his  head  fairly 
stood  on  end. 

My!  what  a  monster  of  fierceness  the 
bear  was.  His  head,  throat,  and  paws,  were 
covered  with  blood,  evidently  from  some 
animal  that  he  had  been  eating,  and  his 
great  red  mouth,  sharp  white  teeth,  and 
cropped  ear  gave  him  a  most  ferocious  and 
terrifying  appearance. 

Balser's  first  impulse,  now  that  he  had 
found  the  long-sought  one-eared  bear,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  was  to  retreat.  That  was  Tom's 
first  impulse  also,  and,  notwithstanding  his 
knives  and  hatchet,  he  acted  upon  it  quicker 
than  a  circus  clown  can  turn  a  somersault. 

Balser  also  started  to  run,  but  thought 
better  of  it,  and  turned  to  give  battle  to  the 
bear,  fully  determined  to  act  slowly  and 
deliberately,  and  to  make  no  mistake  about 
his  aim. 


"  <  Lordy,  Balser!      It's  the  one-eared  bear.'  " 


THE  ONE-EARED   BEAR.  89 

He  knew  that  a  false  aim  would  end  his 
own  days,  and  would  add  one  more  victim 
to  the  already  long  list  of  the  one-eared  bear. 

The  dogs  barked  furiously  at  the  bear,  and 
did  not  give  Balser  an  opportunity  to  shoot. 
The  bear  and  dogs  were  gradually  moving 
farther  away  from  Balser,  and  almost  before 
he  knew  it  the  three  had  disappeared  in  the 
thicket.  Balser  was  loath  to  follow  until 
Tom  should  return,  so  he  called  in  an  under 
tone  :  — 

"Tom!    Limpy!" 

Soon  Tom  cautiously  came  back,  peering 
fearfully  about  him,  hatchet  in  hand,  ready 
to  do  great  execution  upon  the  bear  —  he 
afterward  said. 

"  You're  a  pretty  hunter,  you  are.  You'd 
better  go  home  and  get  an  ax.  The  bear 
has  got  away  just  because  I  had  to  wait  for 
you,"  said  Balser,  only  too  glad  to  have  some 
one  to  blame  for  the  bear's  escape. 

The  boys  still  heard  the  dogs  barking,  and 
hurried  on  after  them  as  rapidly  as  the 
tangle  of  undergrowth  would  permit.  Now 


90      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

and  then  they  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  bear, 
only  to  lose  it  again  as  he  ran  down  a  ravine 
or  through  a  dense  thicket.  The  dogs,  how 
ever,  kept  in  close  pursuit,  and  loudly  called 
to  their  master  to  notify  him  of  their  where 
abouts. 

The  boys  and  bears  played  at  this  exciting 
game  of  hide-and-seek  for  two  or  three  hours, 
but  Balser  had  no  opportunity  for  a  good 
shot,  and  Tom  found  no  chance  to  use  his 
deadly  hatchet. 

When  the  bear  showed  a  disposition  to 
run  away  rather  than  to  fight,  Limpy  grew 
brave,  and  talked  himself  into  a  high  state  of 
heroism. 

It  was  an  hour  past  noon  and  the  boys 
were  laboriously  climbing  a  steep  ascent  in 
pursuit  of  the  bear  and  dogs,  which  they 
could  distinctly  see  a  few  yards  ahead  of 
them,  at  the  top  of  a  hill.  The  underbrush 
had  become  thinner,  although  the  shadow 
of  the  trees  was  deep  and  dark,  and  Balser 
thought  that  at  last  the  bear  was  his.  He 
repeated  over  and  over  to  himself  his  father's 


THE   ONE-EARED    BEAR.  91 

advice :  "  When  you  attack  a  bear,  be  slow 
and  deliberate.  Do  nothing  in  a  hurry. 
Don't  shoot  until  you're  sure  of  your  aim." 

He  remembered  vividly  his  hasty  shot 
when  he  wounded  the  bear  on  Conn's  Creek, 
and  his  narrow  escape  from  death  at  that 
time  had  so  impressed  upon  him  the  sound 
ness  of  his  father's  advice,  that  he  repeated  it 
night  and  morning  with  his  prayers. 

When  he  saw  the  bear  at  the  top  of  the 
hill,  so  close  to  him,  he  raised  his  gun  to  his 
shoulder  and  held  it  there  for  a  moment, 
awaiting  a  chance  for  a  sure  shot.  But  dis 
appointment,  instead  of  the  bear,  was  his,  for 
while  he  held  his  gun  ready  to  fire,  the  bear 
suddenly  disappeared,  as  if  the  earth  had 
opened  and  swallowed  him. 

It  all  happened  so  quickly  that  even  the 
dogs  looked  astonished.  Surely,  this  was  a 
demon  bear. 

The  boys  hurried  to  the  spot  where  they 
had  last  seen  the  animal,  and,  although  they 
carefully  searched  for  the  mouth  of  a  cave, 
or  burrow,  through  which  the  bear  might 


92      THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

have  escaped,  they  saw  none,  but  found  the 
earth  everywhere  solid  and  firm.  They 
extended  their  search  for  a  hundred  feet  or 
more  about  them,  but  still  with  the  same  re 
sult.  They  could  find  no  hole  or  opening  into 
which  the  bear  could  possibly  have  entered. 
His  mysterious  disappearance  right  before 
their  eyes  seemed  terribly  uncanny. 

There  was  certainly  something  wrong  with 
the  one-eared  bear.  He  had  sprung  from  the 
ground,  just  at  their  feet,  where  a  moment 
before  there  had  been  nothing;  and  now 
he  had  as  mysteriously  disappeared  into  the 
solid  earth,  and  had  left  no  trace  behind  him. 

Balser  and  Tom  stood  for  a  moment  in  the 
greatest  amazement,  and  all  they  had  heard 
about  the  evil  spirit  which  inhabited  the  one- 
eared  bear  quickly  flashed  through  their 
minds. 

"We'd  better  let  him  go,  Balser,"  said 
Tom,  "for  we'll  never  kill  him,  that's  sure. 
He's  been  leading  us  a  wild-goose  chase  all 
the  morning  only  to  get  us  up  here  to  kill  us. 
I  never  saw  such  an  awful  place  for  darkness. 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  93 

The  bushes  and  trees  don't  seem  natural. 
They  all  have  thorns  and  great  knots  on 
them,  and  their  limbs  and  twigs  look  like 
huge  bony  arms  and  ringers  reaching  out 
after  us.  I  tell  you  this  ain't  a  natural 
place,  and  that  bear  is  an  evil  spirit,  as  sure 
as  you  live.  Lordy!  let's  get  out  of  here, 
for  I  never  was  so  scared  in  my  life." 

Balser  was  also  afraid,  but  Tom's  words 
had  made  him  wish  to  appear  brave,  and 
he  said:  — 

"  Shucks  !  Limpy ;  I  hope  you  ain't  afraid 
when  you  have  your  hatchet." 

"  For  goodness'  sake,  don't  joke  in  such 
a  place  as  this,  Balser,"  said  Tom,  with 
chattering  teeth.  "  I'm  not  afraid  of  any 
natural  bear  when  I  have  my  hatchet,  but  a 
bewitched  bear  is  too  much  for  me,  and  I'm 
not  ashamed  to  own  it" 

"  How  do  you  know  he's  bewitched  ? " 
asked  Balser,  trying  to  talk  himself  out  of  his 
own  fears. 

"  Bewitched  ?  Didn't  he  come  right  out 
of  the  ground  just  at  our  very  feet,  and  didn't 


94      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

he  sink  into  the  solid  earth  right  here  before 
our  eyes?  What  more  do  you  want,  I'd  like 
to  know?  Just  you  try  to  sink  into  the 
ground  and  see  if  you  can.  Nobody  can, 
unless  he's  bewitched." 

Balser  felt  in  his  heart  that  Tom  told 
the  truth,  and,  as  even  the  dogs  seemed 
anxious  to  get  away  from  the  dark,  mysteri 
ous  place,  they  all  descended  the  hill  on  the 
side  opposite  to  that  by  which  they  had 
ascended.  When  they  reached  the  bottom. 
of  the  hill  they  unexpectedly  found  that  they 
were  at  the  river's  edge,  and  after  taking  a 
drink  they  turned  their  faces  toward  home. 
They  thought  of  dinner,  but  their  appetite 
had  been  frightened  away  by  the  mysterious 
disappearance  of  the  bear,  and  they  did  not 
care  to  eat.  So  they  fed  the  dogs  and  again 
started  homeward  down  the  river. 

After  a  few  minutes'  walking  they  came  to 
a  bluff  several  hundred  feet  long,  and  per 
haps  fifty  feet  high,  which  at  that  time,  the 
water  being  low,  was  separated  from  the  river 
by  a  narrow  strip  of  rocky,  muddy  ground. 


'  Let's  get  out  of  here.' 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  95 

This  strip  of  ground  was  overgrown  with 
reeds  and  willows,  and  the  bluff  was  covered 
with  vines  and  bushes  which  clung  in  green 
masses  to  its  steep  sides  and  completely  hid 
the  rocks  and  earth.  Tom  was  in  front, 
Balser  came  next,  and  the  dogs,  dead  tired, 
were  trailing  along  some  distance  behind. 
Suddenly  Tom  threw  up  his  hands  and 
jumped  frantically  backward,  exclaiming  in 
terrified  tones :  — 

"  Oh,  Lord !  the  one-eared  bear  again." 
When  Tom  jumped  backward  his  foot 
caught  in  a  vine,  and  he  fell  violently  against 
Balser,  throwing  them  both  to  the  ground. 
In  falling,  Tom  dropped  his  hatchet,  which 
he  had  snatched  from  his  belt,  and  Balser 
dropped  his  gun,  the  lock  of  which  struck  a 
stone  and  caused  the  charge  to  explode. 
Thus  the  boys  were  on  their  backs  and 
weaponless,  while  the  one-eared  bear  stood 
almost  within  arm's  length,  growling  in  a 
voice  like  distant  thunder,  and  looking  so 
horrid  and  fierce  that  he  seemed  a  very 
demon  in  a  bear's  skin. 


96      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Tom  and  Balser  were  so  frightened  that 
for  a  moment  they  could  not  move ;  but  the 
deep  growls  which  terrified  them  also  brought 
the  dogs,  who  came  quickly  to  the  rescue, 
barking  furiously. 

The  bear  sprang  upon  the  boys  just  as 
the  dogs  came  up,  and  Balser  received  the 
full  force  of  a  great  flat  horny  paw  upon  his 
back,  and  was  almost  stunned.  The  long 
sharp  claws  of  the  bear  tore  through  the 
buckskin  jacket  as  if  it  were  paper,  and  cut 
deep  gashes  in  Balser's  flesh.  The  pain 
seemed  to  revive  him  from  the  benumbing 
effect  of  the  stroke,  and  when  the  bear's 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  dogs,  Balser 
crawled  out  from  beneath  the  monster  and 
arose  to  his  feet,  wounded,  bloody,  and  dizzy. 

Tom  also  felt  the  force  of  the  bear's  great 
paw,  and  was  lying  a  few  feet  from  Balser, 
with  his  head  in  a  tangle  of  vines  and  reeds. 

Balser,  having  escaped  from  under  the 
bear,  the  brute  turned  upon  Tom,  who  was 
lying  prostrate  in  the  bushes. 

The   dogs  were  still  vigorously  fighting 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  97 

the  bear,  and  every  second  or  two  a  stroke 
from  the  powerful  paw  brought  a  sharp 
yelp  of  pain  from  either  Tige  or  Prince, 
and  left  its  mark  in  deep,  red  gashes  upon 
their  bodies.  The  pain,  however,  did  not 
deter  the  faithful  animals  from  their  efforts 
to  rescue  the  boys;  and  while  the  bear  was 
making  for  Tom  it  was  kept  busy  in  defend 
ing  itself  from  the  dogs. 

In  an  instant  the  bear  reached  Tom,  who 
would  have  been  torn  in  pieces  at  once,  had 
not  Balser  quickly  unsheathed  his  long  hunt 
ing  knife  and  rushed  into  the  fight.  He 
sprang  for  the  bear  and  landed  on  his  back, 
clinging  to  him  with  one  arm  about  his 
neck,  while  with  the  other  he  thrust  his 
sharp  hunting  knife  almost  to  the  hilt  into 
the  brute's  side. 

This  turned  the  attack  from  Tom,  and 
brought  it  upon  Balser,  who  soon  had  his 
hands  full  again. 

The  bear  rose  upon  his  hind  feet,  and 
before  Balser  could  take  a  step  in  retreat, 
caught  him  in  his  mighty  arms  for  the 


98      THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE  RIVER. 

purpose  of  hugging  him  to  death,  which  is 
a  bear's  favourite  method  of  doing  battle. 

The  hunting  knife  was  still  sticking  in  the 
rough  black  side  of  the  bear,  where  Balser 
had  thrust  it,  and  blood  flowed  from  the 
wound  in  a  great  stream. 

The  dogs  were  biting  at  the  bear's  hind 
legs,  but  so  intent  was  the  infuriated  mon 
ster  upon  killing  Balser  that  he  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  them,  but  permitted  them  to  work 
their  pleasure  upon  him,  while  he  was  hav 
ing  the  satisfaction  of  squeezing  the  life  out 
of  the  boy. 

In  the  meantime  Tom  recovered  and  rose 
to  his  feet.  He  at  once  realized  that  Balser 
would  be  a  dead  boy  if  something  were  not 
done  immediately.  Luckily,  Tom  saw  his 
hatchet,  lying  a  few  feet  away,  and  snatch 
ing  it  up  he  attacked  the  bear,  chopping 
away  at  his  great  back  as  if  it  were  a  tree. 

At  the  third  or  fourth  stroke  from  Tom's 
hatchet,  the  bear  loosened  his  grip  upon 
Balser  and  fell  in  a  great  black  heap  to  the 
ground,  growling  and  clawing  in  all  direc- 


THE   ONE-EARED   BEAR.  99 

tions  as  if  he  were  frantic  with  rage  and  pain. 
He  bit  at  the  rocks  and  bushes,  gnashed  his 
teeth,  and  dug  into  the  ground  with  his 
claws. 

Balser,  when  released  from  the  bear,  fell  in 
a  half  conscious  condition,  close  to  the 
river's  edge.  Tom  ran  to  him,  and,  hardly 
knowing  what  he  did,  dashed  water  in  his 
face  to  remove  the  blood-stains  and  to  wash 
the  wounds.  The  water  soon  revived  Balser, 
who  rose  to  his  feet ;  and,  Tom  helping  his 
friend,  the  boys  started  to  run,  or  rather  to 
walk  away  as  fast  as  their  wounds  and 
bruises  would  permit,  while  the  dogs  con 
tinued  to  bark  and  the  bear  to  growl. 

As  the  boys  were  retreating,  Tom,  turned 
his  head  to  see  if  the  bear  was  following,  but 
as  it  was  still  lying  on  the  ground,  growling 
and  biting  at  the  rocks  and  scratching  the 
earth,  he  thought  perhaps  that  the  danger 
was  over,  and  that  the  bear  was  so  badly 
wounded  that  he  could  not  rise,  or  he  cer 
tainly  would  have  been  on  his  feet  fighting 
Tige  and  Prince,  who  gave  him  not  one 


ioo    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

moment's  peace.  Balser  and  Tom  paused 
for  an  instant,  and  were  soon  convinced  that 
the  bear  was  helpless. 

"  I  believe  he  can't  get  up,"  said  Balser. 

"  Of  course  he  can't,"  answered  Tom,  pom 
pously.  "  I  cut  his  old  backbone  in  two 
with  my  hatchet.  When  he  was  hugging 
you  I  chopped  away  at  him  hard  enough  to 
cut  down  a  hickory  sapling." 

The  boys  limped  back  to  the  scene  of  con 
flict,  and  found  that  they  were  right.  The 
bear  could  not  rise  to  his  feet,  but  lay  in  a 
huge  struggling  black  heap  on  the  ground. 

Balser  then  cautiously  went  over  to  where 
his  gun  lay,  picked  it  up,  and  ran  back  to 
Tom.  He  tried  to  load  the  gun,  but  his 
arms  were  so  bruised  and  torn  that  he 
could  not;  so  he  handed  it  to  Tom,  who 
loaded  it  with  a  large  bullet  and  a  heavy 
charge  of  powder. 

Balser  then  called  off  the  dogs,  and  Tom, 
as  proud  as  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  held  the  gun  within  a  yard  of  the 
bear's  head  and  pulled  the  trigger.  The 


THE  ONE-EARED   BEAR.  101 

great  brute  rolled  over  on  his  side,  his 
mighty  limbs  quivered,  he  uttered  a  last 
despairing  growl  which  was  piteous  —  for  it 
was  almost  a  groan  —  and  his  fierce,  turbu 
lent  spirit  fled  forever.  Balser  then  drew 
his  hunting  knife  from  the  bear's  body,  cut 
off  the  remaining  ear,  and  put  it  in  the 
pocket  of  his  buckskin  coat. 

The  boys  were  sorely  wounded,  and  Bal 
ser  said  that  the  bear  had  squeezed  his 
"insides"  out  of  place.  This  proved  to  be 
true  to  a  certain  extent,  for  when  he  got  home 
it  was  found  that  two  of  his  ribs  were  broken. 

The  young  hunters  were  only  too  glad  to 
start  homeward,  for  they  had  seen  quite 
enough  of  the  one-eared  bear  for  one  day. 

After  walking  in  silence  a  short  distance 
down  the  river,  Balser  said  to  Tom: — • 

"  I'll  never  again  say  anything  bad  about 
your  hatchet.  It  saved  my  life  to-day,  and 
was  worth  all  the  guns  in  the  world  in  such 
a  fight  as  we  have  just  gone  through." 

Tom  laughed,  but  was  kind-hearted  enough 
not  to  say,  "  I  told  you  so." 


102    THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

You  may  imagine  the  fright  the  boys 
gave  their  parents  when  they  arrived  home 
wounded,  limping,  and  blood-stained ;  but 
soon  all  was  told,  and  Balser  and  Tom  were 
the  heroes  of  the  settlement. 

They  had  killed  the  most  dangerous  ani 
mal  that  had  ever  lived  on  Blue  River,  and 
had  conquered  where  old  and  experienced 
hunters  had  failed. 

The  huge  carcass  of  the  bear  was  brought 
home  that  evening,  and  when  the  skin  was 
removed,  his  backbone  was  found  to  have 
been  cut  almost  through  by  Tom's  hatchet. 

When  they  cut  the  bear  open  somebody 
said  he  had  two  galls,  and  that  fact,  it  was 
claimed,  accounted  for  his  fierceness. 

Where  the  bear  had  sprung  from  when 
the  boys  first  saw  him  in  the  forest,  or  how 
he  had  managed  to  disappear  into  the  ground 
at  the  top  of  the  hill  was  never  satisfactorily 
explained.  Some  settlers  insisted  that  he 
had  not  been  inhabited  by  an  evil  spirit, 
else  the  boys  could  not  have  killed  him,  but 
others  clung  to  the  belief  with  even  greater 
faith  and  persistency. 


Balser  rushed  into  the  fight." 


THE  ONE-EARED   BEAR.  103 

Liney  went  every  day  to  see  Balser,  who 
was  confined  to  his  bed  for  a  fortnight. 

One  day,  while  she  was  sitting  by  him, 
and  no  one  else  was  in  the  room,  he  asked 
her  to  hand  him  his  buckskin  jacket;  the 
one  he  had  worn  on  the  day  of  the  bear 
fight.  The  jacket  was  almost  in  shreds 
from  the  frightful  claws  of  the  bear,  and 
tears  came  to  the  girl's  eyes  as  she  placed 
it  on  the  bed. 

Balser  put  his  hand  into  one  of  the  deep 
pockets,  and,  drawing  out  the  bear's  ear, 
handed  it  to  Liney,  saying:  — 

"  I  cut  this  off  for  you  because  I  like 
you." 

The  girl  took  the  bear's  ear,  blushed  a 
deep  red,  thanked  him,  and  murmured :  — 

"And  I  will  keep  it,  ugly  as  it  is,  because 
I  —  because  —  I  —  like  you." 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   WOLF   HUNT. 

IT  was  a  bright  day  in  August.  The 
whispering  rustle  of  the  leaves  as  they 
turned  their  white  sides  to  the  soft  breath 
of  the  southwest  wind,  the  buzzing  of  the 
ostentatiously  busy  bees,  the  lapping  of 
the  river  as  it  gurgled  happily  along  on  its 
everlasting  travels,  the  half-drowsy  note  of 
a  thrush,  and  the  peevish  cry  of  a  catbird 
seemed  only  to  accentuate  the  Sabbath  hush 
that  was  upon  all  nature. 

The  day  was  very  warm,  but  the  deep 
shade  of  the  elms  in  front  of  the  cabin 
afforded  a  delightful  retreat,  almost  as  cool 
as  a  cellar. 

Tom  and  Liney  Fox  had  walked  over  to 
visit  Balser  and  Jim ;  and  Sukey  Yates,  with 
her  two  brothers,  had  dropped  in  to  stay  a 

104 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  107 

moment  or  two,  but  finding  such  good  com 
pany,  had  remained  for  the  day. 

The  children  were  seated  at  the  top  of  the 
slope  that  descended  to  the  river,  and  the 
weather  being  too  warm  to  play  any  game 
more  vigorous  than  "  thumbs  up,"  they  were 
occupying  the  time  with  drowsy  yawns  and 
still  more  drowsy  conversation,  the  burden 
of  which  was  borne  by  Tom. 

Balser  often  said  that  he  didn't  mind 
"  talking  parties,"  if  he  could  only  keep  Tom 
Fox  from  telling  the  story  of  the  time  when 
he  went  to  Cincinnati  with  his  father  and 
saw  a  live  elephant.  But  that  could  never 
be  done;  and  Tom  had  told  it  twice  upon 
the  afternoon  in  question,  and  there  is  no 
knowing  how  often  he  would  have  inflicted 
it  upon  his  small  audience,  had  it  not  been 
for  an  interruption  which  effectually  disposed 
of  "  Cincinnati "  and  the  live  elephant  for 
that  day. 

A  bustling  old  hen  with  her  brood  of 
downy  chicks  was  peevishly  clucking  about, 
now  and  then  lazily  scratching  the  earth, 


io8    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

and  calling  up  her  ever-hungry  family  when 
ever  she  was  lucky  enough  to  find  a  deli 
cious  worm  or  racy  bug. 

The  cubs  were  stretched  at  full  length  in 
the  bright  blaze  of  the  sun,  snoring  away 
like  a  pair  of  grampuses,  their  black  silky 
sides  rising  and  falling  with  every  breath. 
They  looked  so  pretty  and  so  innocent  that 
you  would  have  supposed  a  thought  of  mis- 


"MISCHIEF!  THEY  NEVER  THOUGHT  OF  ANYTHING  ELSE." 

chief  could  never  have  entered  their  heads. 
(Mischief!  They  never  thought  of  anything 
else.  From  morning  until  night,  and  from 
night  until  morning,  they  studied,  planned, 
and  executed  deeds  of  mischief  that  would 
have  done  credit  to  the  most  freckle-faced 
boy  in  the  settlement.  Will  you  tell  me  why 


THE  WOLF  HUNT.  in 

it  is  that  the  boy  most  plentifully  supplied 
with  freckles  and  warts  is  the  most  fruitful 
in  schemes  of  mischief?)  A  flock  of  gray 
geese  and  snowy  ganders  were  floating  on 
the  placid  surface  of  the  river,  opposite  the 
children,  where  a  projection  of  the  bank  had 
caused  the  water  to  back,  making  a  little 
pool  of  listless  eddies. 

Suddenly  from  among  the  noiseless  flock 
of  geese  came  a  mighty  squawking  and  a 
sound  of  flapping  wings,  and  the  flock,  half 
flying,  half  swimming,  came  struggling  at 
their  utmost  speed  toward  home. 

"  Look,  Balser !  Look !  "  said  Liney  in  a 
whisper.  "  A  wolf !  " 

Balser  turned  in  time  to  see  a  great,  lank, 
gray  wolf  emerge  from  the  water,  carrying  a 
gander  by  the  neck. 

The  bird  could  not  squawk,  but  he  flapped 
his  wings  violently,  thereby  retarding  some 
what  the  speed  of  Mr.  Wolf. 

Balser  hurried  to  the  house  for  his  gun, 
and  with  Tom  Fox  quickly  paddled  across 
the  river  in  pursuit  of  the  wolf.  The  boys 


112    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

entered  the  forest  at  the  place  the  wolf  had 
chosen.  White  feathers  from  the  gander 
furnished  a  distinct  spoor,  and  Balser  had  no 
difficulty  in  keeping  on  the  wolf's  track. 
The  boys  had  been  walking  rapidly  for  thirty 
or  forty  minutes,  when  they  found  that  the 
tracks  left  by  the  wolf  and  the  scattered 


feathers  of  the  gander  led  toward  a  thick 
clump  of  pawpaw  bushes  and  vines,  which 
grew  at  the  foot  of  a  small  rocky  hill.  Into 
this  thicket  the  boys  cautiously  worked  their 
way,  and,  after  careful  examination,  they 
found,  ingeniously  concealed  by  dense  foli 
age,  a  small  hole  or  cleft  in  the  rocks  at  the 
base  of  the  hill,  and  they  at  once  knew  that 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  113 

the  wolf  had  gone  to  earth,  and  that  this  was 
his  den. 

Foxes  make  for  themselves  and  their  fami 
lies  the  snuggest,  most  ingenious  home  in 
the  ground  you  can  possibly  imagine.  They 
seek  a  place  at  the  base  of  a  hill  or 
bluff,  and  dig  what  we  would  call  in  our 
houses  a  narrow  hallway,  straight  into  the 
hill.  They  loosen  the  dirt  with  their  front 
feet,  and  throw  it  back  of  them ;  then  with 
their  hind  feet  they  keep  pushing  it  farther 
toward  the  opening  of  the  hole,  until  they 
have  cast  it  all  out.  When  they  have  re 
moved  the  loose  dirt,  they  at  once  scatter  it 
over  the  ground  and  carefully  cover  it  with 
leaves  and  vines,  to  avoid  attracting  unwel 
come  visitors  to  their  home. 

When  the  hallway  is  finished,  the  fox 
digs  upward  into  the  hill,  and  there  he 
makes  his  real  home.  His  reason  for  do 
ing  this  is  to  prevent  water  from  flowing 
through  his  hall  into  his  living  apartment 
The  latter  is  often  quite  a  cave  in  the  earth, 
and  furnishes  as  roomy  and  cozy  a  home  for 


114    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  and  their  children  as  you 
could  find  in  the  world.  It  is  cool  in  sum 
mer  and  warm  in  winter.  It  is  softly  car 
peted  with  leaves,  grass,  and  feathers,  and 
the  foxes  lie  there  snugly  enough  when  the 
winter  comes  on,  with  its  freezing  and  snow 
ing  and  blowing. 

When  the  fox  gets  hungry  he  slips  out  of 
his  cozy  home,  and  briskly  trots  to  some 
well-known  chicken  roost;  or  perhaps  he 
finds  a  covey  of  quails  huddled  under  a 
bunch  of  straw.  In  either  case  he  carries 
home  with  him  a  dainty  dinner,  and  after  he 
has  feasted,  he  cares  not  how  the  wind 
blows,  nor  how  the  river  freezes,  nor  how  the 
snow  falls,  for  he  is  housed  like  a  king,  and 
is  as  warm  and  comfortable  and  happy  as  if 
he  owned  the  earth  and  lived  in  a  palace. 

Wolves  also  make  their  dens  in  the  earth, 
but  they  usually  hunt  for  a  place  where  the 
hallway,  at  least,  is  already  made  for  them. 
They  seek  a  hill  with  a  rocky  base,  and  find 
a  cave  partially  made,  the  entrance  to  which 
is  a  small  opening  between  the  rocks.  With 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  115 

this  for  a  commencement,  they  dig  out  the 
interior  and  make  their  home,  somewhat 
upon  the  plan  of  the  fox. 

The  old  wolf  which  Balser  and  Tom 
had  chased  to  earth  had  found  a  fine 
dinner  for  his  youngsters,  and  while  the 
boys  were  watching  the  hole,  no  doubt  the 
wolf  family  was  having  a  glorious  feast  upon 
the  gander. 

The  boys,  of  course,  were  at  their  rope's 
end.  The  dogs  were  not  with  them,  and, 
even  had  they  been,  they  were  too  large  to 
enter  the  hole  leading  to  the  wolf's  den. 
So  the  boys  seated  themselves  upon  a 
rock  a  short  distance  from  the  opening, 
and  after  a  little  time  adopted  the  follow 
ing  plan  of  action. 

Balser  was  to  lie  upon  his  breast  on  the 
hillside,  a  few  yards  above  the  opening  of 
the  wolf  den,  while  Tom  was  to  conceal  him 
self  in  the  dense  foliage,  close  to  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  and  they  took  their  posi 
tions  accordingly.  Both  were  entirely  hid 
den  by  vines  and  bushes,  and  remained 


ii6    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

silent  as  the  tomb.  They  had  agreed  that 
they  should  lie  entirely  motionless  until 
the  shadow  of  a  certain  tree  should  fall 
across  Tom's  face,  which  they  thought 
would  occur  within  an  hour.  Then  Tom, 
who  could  mimic  the  calls  and  cries  of 
many  birds  and  beasts,  was  to  squawk  like 
a  goose,  and  tempt  the  wolf  from  his  den 
so  that  Balser  could  shoot  him. 

It  was  a  harder  task  than  you  may  imagine 
to  lie  on  the  ground  amid  the  bushes  and 
leaves ;  for  it  seemed,  at  least  so  Tom  said, 
that  all  the  ants  and  bugs  and  worms 
in  the  woods  had  met  at  that  particular 
place,  and  at  that  exact  time,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  "drilling"  up  and  down,  and 
over  and  around,  his  body,  and  to  bite  him 
at  every  step.  He  dared  not  move  to 
frighten  away  the  torments,  nor  to  scratch. 
He  could  not  even  grumble,  which  to  Tom 
was  the  sorest  trial  of  all. 

The  moment  the  shadow  of  the  tree  fell 
upon  his  face  Tom  squawked  like  a  goose, 
so  naturally,  that  Balser  could  hardly  believe 


iklh 

•teliiMf 

AV.',', .  ,    '-X.  i-*3.-.    \\       I          .   '        i* 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  119 

it  was  Tom,  and  not  a  real  goose.  Soon 
he  uttered  another  squawk,  and  almost  at 
the  same  instant  Mr.  Wolf  came  out  of 
his  hall  door,  doubtless  thinking  to  him 
self  that  that  was  his  lucky  day,  for  he 
would  have  two  ganders,  one  for  dinner 
and  one  for  supper,  and  plenty  of  cold 
goose  for  breakfast  and  dinner  the  next 
day.  But  he  was  mistaken,  for  it  was  the 
unluckiest  day  of  the  poor  wolf's  life. 
Bang!  went  Balser's  gun,  and  the  wolf, 
who  had  simply  done  his  duty  as  a  father, 
by  providing  a  dinner  for  his  family,  paid 
for  his  feast  with  his  life. 

"We'll  drag  the  body  a  short  distance 
away  from  the  den,"  said  Balser,  "and  you 
lie  down  again,  and  this  time  whine  like  a 
wolf.  Then  the  old  she-wolf  will  come  out 
and  we'll  get  her  too." 

Tom  objected. 

"  I  wouldn't  lie  there  another  hour  and 
let  them  ants  and  bugs  chaw  over  me  as 
they  did,  for  all  the  wolves  in  the  state." 

"  But  just  think,  Tom,"  answered  Balser, 


120    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

"when  the  wagons  go  to  Brookville  this 
fall  we  can  get  a  shilling  apiece  for  the 
wolfskins !  Think  of  it !  A  shilling !  One 
for  you  and  one  for  me.  I'll  furnish  the 
powder  and  shot  if  you'll  squawk  and 
whine.  Squawks  and  whines  don't  cost 
anything,  but  powder  and  lead  does.  Now 
that's  a  good  fellow,  just  lie  down  and 
whine  a  little.  She'll  come  out  pretty 
quick." 

Tom  still  refused,  and  Balser  still  insisted. 
Soon  Balser  grew  angry  and  called  Tom  a 
fool.  Tom  answered  in  kind,  and  in  a 
moment  the  boys  clinched  for  a  fight. 
They  scuffled  and  fought  awhile,  and  soon 
stumbled  over  the  dead  wolf  and  fell  to 
the  ground.  Balser  was  lucky  enough  to 
fall  on  top,  and  proceeded  to  pound  Tom 
at  a  great  rate. 

"  Now  will  you  whine  ? "  demanded 
Balser. 

"  No,"  answered  Tom. 

"  Then  take  that,  and  that,  and  that. 
Now  will  you  whine  ? " 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  121 

"  No,"  cried  Tom,  determined  not  to 
yield. 

So  Balser  went  at  it  again,  but  there  was 
no  give  up  to  stubborn  Tom,  even  if  he 
was  on  the  under  side. 

At  last  Balser  wiped  the  perspiration 
from  his  face,  and,  sitting  astride  of  his 
stubborn  foe,  said :  — 

"  Tom,  if  you'll  whine  I'll  lend  you  my 
gun  for  a  whole  day." 

"  And  powder  and  bullets  ? "  asked  Tom. 

"Well,  I  guess  not,"  answered  Balser. 
"  I'll  lick  you  twenty  times  first." 

"  If  you'll  lend  me  your  gun  and  give 
me  ten  full  loads,  I'll  whine  till  I  fetch 
every  wolf  in  the  woods,  if  the  bugs  do  eat 
me  up." 

"  That's  a  go,"  said  Balser,  glad  enough 
to  compromise  with  a  boy  who  didn't 
know  when  he  was  whipped. 

Then  they  got  up,  and  were  as  good 
friends  as  if  no  trouble  had  occurred  between 
them. 

Balser  at  once  lay  down   upon  the  hill- 


122    THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

side  above  the  wolf  den,  and  Tom  took 
his  place  to  whine. 

The  boys  understood  their  job  thoroughly, 
and  Tom's  whines  soon  brought  out  the  old 
she-wolf.  She  looked  cautiously  about  her 
for  a  moment,  stole  softly  over  to  her  dead 
mate,  and  dropped  by  his  side  with  a  bullet 
through  her  heart. 

Tom  was  about  to  rise,  but  Balser  said :  — 

"  Whine  again ;  whine  again,  and  the 
young  ones  will  come  out." 

Tom  whined,  and  sure  enough,  out  came 
two  scrawny,  long-legged  wolf  whelps. 

The  boys  rushed  upon  them,  and  caught 
them  by  the  back  of  the  neck,  to  avoid 
being  bitten,  for  the  little  teeth  of  the  pups 
were  as  sharp  as  needles  and  could  inflict 
an  ugly  wound.  Balser  handed  the  whelp 
he  had  caught  to  Tom,  and  proceeded  to 
cut  two  forked  sticks  from  a  tough  bush, 
which  the  children  called  "  Indian  arrow." 
These  forked  branches  the  boys  tied  about 
the  necks  of  the  pups,  with  which  to  lead 
them  home. 


"CAUGHT  THEM   BY  THE  BACK  OF  THE  NECK." 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  125 

Tom  then  cut  a  strong  limb  from  a  tree 
with  his  pocket-knife.  This  was  quite  an 
undertaking,  but  in  time  he  cut  it  through, 
and  trimmed  off  the  smaller  branches. 
The  boys  tied  together  the  legs  of  the  old 
wolves  and  swung  them  over  the  pole,  which 
they  took  upon  their  shoulders,  and  started 
home  leading  the  pups.  They  arrived  home 
an  hour  or  two  before  sunset,  and  found 
that  Liney  and  Sukey  had  arranged  supper 
under  the  elms. 

The  boys  scoured  their  faces  and  hands 
with  soft  soap,  for  that  was  the  only  soap 
they  had,  and  sat  down  to  supper  with 
cheeks  shining,  and  hair  pasted  to  their 
heads  slick  and  tight. 

"  When  a  fellow  gets  washed  up  this  way, 
and  has  his  hair  combed  so  slick,  it  makes 
him  feel  like  it  was  Sunday,"  said  Tom,  who 
was  uneasily  clean. 

"  Tom,  I  wouldn't  let  people  know  how 
seldom  I  washed  my  face  if  I  were  you," 
said  Liney,  with  a  slight  blush.  "  They'll 
think  you  clean  up  only  on  Sunday." 


126    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Tom,  however,  did  not  allow  Liney's  re 
marks  to  interrupt  his  supper,  but  continued 
to  make  sad  havoc  among  the  good  things 
on  the  log. 

There  was  white  bread  made  from  wheat 
flour,  so  snowy  and  light  that  it  beat  cake 
"all  holler!"  the  boys  "allowed."  Wheat 
bread  was  a  luxury  to  the  settler  folks  in 
those  days,  for  the  mill  nearest  to  the  Blue 
River  settlement  was  over  on  Whitewater, 
at  Brookville,  fifty  miles  away.  Wheat  and 
the  skins  of  wild  animals  were  the  only 
products  that  the  farmers  could  easily  turn 
into  cash,  so  the  small  crops  were  too 
precious  to  be  used  daily,  and  wheat  flour 
bread  was  used  only  for  special  occasions, 
such  as  Christmas,  or  New  Year's,  or  com 
pany  dinner. 

Usually  three  or  four  of  the  farmers  joined 
in  a  little  caravan,  and  went  in  their  wagons 
to  Brookville  twice  a  year.  They  would  go 
in  the  spring  with  the  hides  of  animals  killed 
during  the  winter,  that  being  the  hunting 
season,  and  the  hides  then  taken  being  of 


THE  WOLF  HUNT.  129 

superior  quality  to  those  taken  at  any  other 
time. 

Early  in  the  fall  they  would  go  again  to 
Brookville,  to  market  their  summer  crop  of 
wheat. 

Mr.  Fox  and  a  few  neighbours  had  returned 
from  an  early  trip  to  market  only  a  day  or 
two  before  the  children's  party  at  Balser's 
home,  and  had  brought  with  them  a  few 
packages  of  a  fine  new  drink  called  coffee. 
That  is,  it  was  new  to  the  Western  settler,  at 
the  time  of  which  I  write,  milk  sweetened 
with  "tree  sugar"  being  the  usual  table  drink. 

Liney  had  brought  over  a  small  gourd- 
ful  of  coffee  as  a  present  to  Mrs.  Brent,  and 
a  pot  of  the  brown  beverage  had  been  pre 
pared  for  the  supper  under  the  elms. 

The  Yates  children  and  Tom  were  frank 
enough  to  admit  that  the  coffee  was  bitter, 
and  not  fit  to  drink ;  but  Liney  had  made 
it,  and  Balser  drank  it,  declaring  it  was  very 
good  indeed.  Liney  knew  he  told  a  story, 
but  she  thanked  him  for  it,  nevertheless,  and 
said  that  the  Yates  children  and  Tom  were 


130    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

so  thoroughly  "country"  and  green  that 
she  couldn't  expect  them  to  like  a  civilized 
drink. 

This  would  have  made  trouble  with  Tom, 
but  Balser,  who  saw  it  coming,  said :  — 

"  Now  you  shut  up,  Tom  Fox."  And 
Balser  had  so  recently  whipped  Tom  that 
his  word  bore  the  weight  of  authority. 

Besides  the  coffee  and  the  white  bread 
there  was  a  great  gourd  full  of  milk  with 
the  cream  mixed  in,  just  from  the  spring- 
house,  delicious  and  cold.  There  was  a  cold 
loin  of  venison,  which  had  been  spitted  and 
roasted  over  a  bed  of  hot  coals  in  the 
kitchen  fireplace  that  morning.  There  was 
a  gourd  full  of  quail  eggs,  which  had  been 
boiled  hard  and  then  cooled  in  the  spring- 
house.  There  were  heaping  plates  of  fried 
chicken,  and  rolls  of  glorious  yellow  butter 
just  from  the  churn,  rich  with  the  genuine 
butter  taste,  that  makes  one  long  to  eat  it 
by  the  spoonful ;  then  there  was  a  delicious 
apple  pie,  sweet  and  crusty,  floating  in  cream 
almost  as  thick  as  molasses  in  winter. 


THE  WOLF   HUNT.  131 

They  were  backwoods,  homely  children; 
but  the  supper  to  which  they  sat  down 
under  the  elms  was  fit  for  a  king,  and  the 
appetite  with  which  they  ate  it  was  too 
good  for  any  king. 

During  the  supper  the  bear  cubs  had 
been  nosing  about  the  log  table,  begging 
each  one  by  turns  for  a  bite  to  eat.  They 
were  so  troublesome  that  Jim  got  a  long 
stick,  and  whenever  they  came  within  reach 
he  gave  them  a  sharp  rap  upon  the  head, 
and  soon  they  waddled  away  in  a  pet  of 
indignant  disgust. 

For  quite  a  while  after  Jim  had  driven 
them  off  there  had  been  a  season  of  suspi 
cious  quietude  on  the  part  of  the  cubs. 

Suddenly  a  chorus  of  yelps,  howls,  growls, 
and  whines  came  from  the  direction  of  the 
wolf  pups.  The  attention  of  all  at  the  table 
was,  of  course,  at  once  attracted  by  the 
noise,  and  those  who  looked  beheld  prob 
ably  the  most  comical  battle  ever  fought. 
Tom  and  Jerry,  with  their  everlasting  de 
sire  to  have  their  noses  into  everything  that 


132    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

did  not  concern  them,  had  gone  to  investi 
gate  the  wolf  pups,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  investigation  a  fight  ensued,  whereby  the 
wolves  were  liberated.  The  cubs  were  the 
stronger,  but  the  wolves  were  more  active, 
thus  the  battle  was  quite  even.  The  bears, 
being  awkward,  of  course,  were  in  each 
other's  way  most  of  the  time,  and  would 
fall  over  themselves  and  roll  upon  the 
ground  for  a  second  or  two,  before  they 
could  again  get  upon  their  clumsy  feet. 
The  consequence  was  that  the  wolves  soon 
had  the  best  of  the  fight,  and,  being  once 
free  from  the  cubs,  scampered  off  to  the 
woods  and  were  never  seen  again. 

When  the  wolves  had  gone  the  cubs 
turned  round  and  round,  looking  for  their 
late  antagonists;  but,  failing  to  find  them, 
sat  down  upon  their  haunches,  grinned  at 
each  other  in  a  very  silly  manner,  and  then 
began  to  growl  and  grumble  in  the  worst 
bear  language  any  one  had  ever  heard. 

Balser  scolded  the  cubs  roundly,  and  told 
them  he  had  taught  them  better  than  to 


THE  WOLF  HUNT.  133 

swear,  even  in  bear  talk.  He  then  switched 
them  for  having  liberated  the  wolves,  and 
went  back  to  supper. 

The  switching  quieted  the  bears  for  a 
short  time,  but  soon  their  spirit  of  mischief 
again  asserted  itself. 

After  another  period  of  suspicious  silence 
on  the  part  of  the  cubs,  Jim  put  a  general 
inquiry  to  the  company :  — 

"  What  do  you  s'pose  they're  up  to  this 
time?" 

"  Goodness  only  knows,"  responded  Balser. 
"  But  if  I  hear  another  grunt  out  of  them, 
I'll  take  a  stick  to  them  that'll  hurt,  and 
off  they'll  go  to  their  pen  for  the  night." 

The  settlers  frequently  caught  swarms 
of  bees  in  the  woods,  and  Balser's  father 
had  several  hives  near  the  house.  These 
hives  were  called  "gums,"  because  they 
were  made  from  sections  of  a  hollow  gum 
tree,  that  being  the  best  wood  for  the  home 
of  the  bees.  These  hollow  gums  were 
placed  on  end  upon  small  slanting  platforms, 
and  were  covered  with  clapboards,  which 


134    THE  BEARS  OF   BLUE  RIVER. 

were  held  tightly  in  their  places  by  heavy 
stones.  There  was  a  small  hole,  perhaps 
as  large  as  the  end  of  your  finger,  cut  in 
the  wood  at  the  base,  through  which  the 
bees  entered,  and  upon  the  inside  of  the 
hive  they  constructed  their  comb  and  stored 
their  honey. 

I  told  you  once  before  how  bears  delight 
to  eat  fish  and  blackberries.  They  are 
also  very  fond  of  honey.  In  fact,  bears 
seem  to  have  a  general  appetite  and  enjoy 
everything,  from  boys  to  blackberries. 

Hardly  had  Balser  spoken  his  threat 
when  another  duet  of  howls  and  yelps 
reached  his  ears. 

"  Now  what  on  earth  is  it  ? "  he  asked, 
and  immediately  started  around  the  house 
in  the  direction  whence  the  howls  had 
come. 

"  Geminy !  I  believe  they've  upset  the 
bee-gum,"  said  Jim. 

"  Don't  you  know  they  have  ? "  asked 
Balser.  By  that  time  the  boys  were  in 
sight  of  the  bears. 


"THESE   HIVES   WERE  CALLED   'GUMS.'" 


THE  WOLF  HUNT.  137 

"  Well,  I  know  now  they  have,  if  that 
suits  you  any  better.  Golly!  Look  at 
them  paw  and  scratch,  and  rub  their  eyes 
when  the  bees  sting.  Good  enough  for 
you.  Give  it  to  'em,  bees ! "  And  Jim 
threw  back  his  head  and  almost  split  his 
sides  with  daughter. 

Sure  enough,  the  bears  had  got  to  nosing 
about  the  bee-gums,  and  in  their  ever 
hungry  greediness  had  upset  one.  This, 
of  course,  made  the  bees  very  angry,  and 
they  attacked  the  cubs  in  a  buzzing,  sting 
ing  swarm  that  set  them  yelping,  growling, 
and  snapping,  in  a  most  desperate  and  comi 
cal  manner.  All  their  snapping  and  growl 
ing,  however,  did  no  good,  for  the  bees 
continued  to  buzz  and  sting  without  any 
indication  of  being  merciful.  A  little  of 
this  sort  of  thing  went  a  long  way  with 
the  black  mischief-makers,  and  they  soon 
ran  to  Balser  and  Jim  for  help.  The  bees, 
of  course,  followed,  and  when  the  boys  and 
girls  saw  the  bees  coming  toward  them  they 
broke  helter-skelter  in  all  directions,  and 


138    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

ran  as  fast  as  they  could  go.  The  bears 
then  ran  to  the  river,  and  plunged  in  to 
escape  their  tormentors. 

When  the  gum  had  been  placed  in  posi 
tion  again  and  the  bees  had  become  quiet, 
the  cubs,  thinking  the  field  clear,  came  out 
of  the  water  dripping  wet.  Then  they  wad 
dled  up  close  to  the  girls,  and  out  of  pure 
mischief  shook  themselves  and  sprinkled 
the  dainty  clean  frocks  with  a  shower  from 
their  frowzy  hides. 

That  sealed  the  fate  of  the  cubs  for  the 
day,  and  when  Balser  marched  them  off 
to  their  pen  they  looked  so  meek  and  inno 
cent  that  one  would  have  thought  that  they 
had  been  attending  bear  Sunday-school  all 
their  lives,  and  were  entirely  lacking  in  all 
unwarrantable  and  facetious  instincts. 

They  went  to  bed  supperless  that  evening, 
but  had  their  revenge,  for  their  yelps  and 
whines  kept  the  whole  family  awake  most 
of  the  night. 

By  the  time  the  bears  had  been  put  to 
bed,  darkness  was  near  at  hand,  so  the  sup- 


THE  WOLF  HUNT. 


139 


per  dishes  and  gourds  were  washed  and 
carried  to  the  kitchen.  Then  the  visitors 
said  good  night  and  left  for  home. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BORROWED   FIRE. 

ONE  day  Tom  Fox  was  told  by  his  mother 
to  kindle  the  fire,  which  had  been  allowed 
to  grow  so  dim  that  only  a  smouldering  bed 
of  embers  was  left  upon  the  hearth.  Hang 
ing  from  the  crane  was  a  large  kettle,  almost 
full  of  water.  Now,  in  addition  to  his  repu 
tation  for  freckles,  Tom  was  also  believed  to 
be  the  awkwardest  boy  in  the  Blue  River 
settlement.  Upon  the  day  above  referred 
to,  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  live  up  to  his 
reputation,  by  upsetting  the  kettle  of  water 
upon  the  fire,  thereby  extinguishing  the  last 
spark  of  that  necessary  element  in  the  Fox 
household. 

Of  course  there  was  not  a  lucifer  match 
on  all  Blue  River,  from  its  source  to  its 

mouth ;  and  as  Mr.  Fox  had  taken  the  tinder- 
140 


BORROWED   FIRE.  141 

box  with  him  on  a  hunting  expedition,  and 
would  not  return  till  night,  Limpy  received 
a  sound  thrashing,  and  was  sent  to  the 
house  loft,  there  to  ponder  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  over  his  misdeeds. 

Mrs.  Fox  then  sent  Liney  over  to  Mrs. 
Brent's  to  borrow  fire.  Limpy  would  have 
been  glad  to  go,  had  his  mother  seen  fit 
to  send  him,  but  the  task  would  have  been 
a  reward  rather  than  a  punishment.  Liney 
was  delighted  to  have  an  opportunity  to  visit 
the  Brent  cabin,  so  away  she  went,  very  will 
ingly  indeed.  Before  the  day  was  finished 
she  was  doubly  glad  she  had  gone,  and  the 
help  she  was  able  to  give  to  a  friend  in 
need  made  her  devoutly  thankful  to  the  kind 
fate  which,  operating  through  Mrs.  Fox,  had 
sent  her  on  her  errand.  The  terrible  adven 
ture,  which  befell  her,  and  the  frightful — but 
I  am  telling  my  story  before  I  come  to  it. 

When  Balser  was  a  boy,  each  season 
brought  its  separate  work  and  recreation 
on  the  farm,  as  it  does  now.  But  especially 
was  this  true  in  the  time  of  the  early  settlers. 


142    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

The  winter  was  the  hunting  season.  The 
occupation  of  hunting,  which  was  looked 
upon  as  sport  and  recreation  combined,  was 
also  a  business  with  the  men  who  cleared 
the  land  and  felled  the  forests  of  Indiana; 
for  a  wagon-load  of  good  pelts,  taken  during 
the  winter  season  when  the  fur  is  at  its  best, 
was  no  inconsiderable  matter,  and  brought 
at  market  more  money  than  the  same  wagon 
filled  with  wheat  would  have  been  worth. 
So  the  settler  of  Balser's  time  worked  quite 
as  hard  in  the  winter  with  his  rifle,  as  he  did 
with  his  hoe  and  plough  in  the  fields  during 
the  months  of  summer. 

Spring,  of  course,  was  the  time  for  break 
ing  up  and  ploughing.  Summer  was  the 
wheat  harvest.  Then,  also,  the  various 
kinds  of  wild  berries  were  gathered,  and 
dried  or  preserved.  In  the  summer  casks 
of  rich  blackberry  wine  were  made,  to  warm 
the  cold  hunter  upon  his  return  from  the 
chase  during  the  cold  days  to  come,  or  to 
regale  company  upon  long  winter  evenings 
before  the  blazing  fire.  Blackberries  could 


BORROWED   FIRE.  143 

be  had  by  the  bushel  for  the  mere  gather 
ing,  and  the  wine  could  be  made  so  cheaply 
that  almost  every  house  was  well  stocked 
with  the  delicious  beverage. 

Then  came  the  corn  gathering,  and  bring 
ing  in  the  fodder.  The  latter  was  brought 
in  by  wagon-loads,  and  was  stacked  against 
the  sides  of  the  barn  and  of  the  cow  shed. 
It  answered  a  double  purpose :  it  made  the 
barn  and  sheds  warm  and  cozy  homes  for 
the  stock  during  the  cold  bleak  winter,  and 
furnished  food  for  the  cattle  and  the  horses, 
so  that  by  spring  they  had  eaten  part  of  their 
houses.  The  wheat  straw  was  stacked  in  the 
barnyard.;  and  into  this  the  sheep  and  calves 
burrowed  little  caves,  wherein  they  would 
lie  so  snug  and  warm  that  it  made  no  dif 
ference  to  them  how  much  the  wind  blew, 
or  the  snow  and  rain  fell,  or  how  hard  it 
froze  outside ;  for  the  bad  weather  made  their 
cozy  shelter  seem  all  the  more  comfortable 
by  contrast. 

The  fall  also  had  its  duties,  part  task,  and 
part  play.  The  woods  abounded  in  hickory 


144    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

nuts,  walnuts,  and  hazelnuts,  and  a  supply 
of  all  these  had  to  be  gathered,  for  they  fur 
nished  no  small  part  of  the  winter  food. 
Preparation  was  always  made  for  this  work 
by  the  boys  of  Mr.  Brent's  family  long  be 
fore  a  hickory  nut  had  thought  of  falling. 
Shortly  after  the  wolf  hunt  which  I  de 
scribed  to  you  in  the  last  chapter,  Balser 
and  Jim  began  to  make  ready  for  the  nut 
campaign.  Their  first  task  was  to  build  a 
small  wagon,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
home  the  nuts.  They  found  a  tree  twelve 
or  fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  which  they 
felled.  They  then  sawed  off  four  round 
sections  of  the  tree,  each  about  one  inch 
thick,  to  serve  as  wheels.  From  the  outer 
edge  of  these  wheels  they  removed  the 
bark,  and  bound  them  with  tires  made  from 
the  iron  hoops  of  a  barrel.  They  then  cut 
round  holes  in  the  centre  in  which  to  insert 
the  axles  of  the  wagon.  With  their  hatchets 
they  split  clapboards,  which  they  made 
smooth,  and  of  the  clapboards  they  made 
the  bottom,  sides,  and  ends.  The  boys 


BORROWED   FIRE.  145 

worked  pretty  hard  for  ten  or  twelve  days, 
and  completed  as  perfect  a  two-horse  wagon, 
in  miniature,  as  any  one  ever  beheld.  There 
were  the  tongue,  the  axletree,  the  sideboard, 
the  headboard,  and  the  tail-gate  and  floor, 
all  fitted  so  tightly  together  that  you  would 
have  declared  a  wagon  maker  had  made 
them.  The  wheels,  bound  with  barrel-hoop 
tires,  were  marvels  of  their  kind.  The 
wagon  bed  would  hold  as  much  as  could  be 
contained  in  two  large  flour  sacks,  and  when 
filled  with  nuts  would  prove  quite  a  load 
to  draw,  consequently  the  boys  must  have 
a  team  of  some  sort.  The  team  which  they 
eventually  rigged  up  was  probably  the  most 
absurd  and  curious  combination  that  ever 
drew  a  load. 

The  boys  selected  strong  pieces  of  deer- 
hide,  and  made  four  sets  of  harness.  For 
what  purpose,  do  you  suppose  ?  You  never 
could  guess.  Two  for  the  dogs,  Tige  and 
Prince,  and  two  for  the  bear  cubs,  Tom  and 
Jerry,  who  they  proposed  should  do  some 
thing  to  earn  their  bread  and  milk,  for  they 


146    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

were  growing  to  be  great  awkward,  big-footed, 
long-legged  fellows,  and  were  very  strong. 

So  the  four  sets  of  harness  were  finished, 
and  one  day  the  odd  team  was  hitched  up 
for  trial.  The  little  wagon  was  loaded  with 
rocks,  and  the  boys  tried  to  start  the  team. 
The  dogs  seemed  willing  enough  to  obey, 
but  the  cubs,  which  were  hitched  in  front, 
went  every  way  but  the  right  one,  and 
showed  a  disposition  to  rebel  against  the 
indignity  of  work. 

The  bears  were  then  taken  from  the  lead, 
the  dogs  were  put  in  their  places,  and  the 
bears  were  put  next  to  the  wagon.  The 
team  was  started  again,  but  the  cubs  lay 
down  flat  upon  the  ground  and  refused  to 
move.  After  trying  in  vain  to  induce  the 
cubs  to  do  their  duty,  Balser  spoke  to  Jim, 
who  was  standing  at  the  dogs'  heads,  and 
Jim  started  forward,  leading  the  dogs,  and 
Jim  and  the  dogs  dragged  after  them  the 
cubs  and  the  wagon.  At  almost  every  step 
the  heavily  loaded  wagon  would  roll  upon 
the  hind  feet  of  the  cubs,  and  Balser  threw 


"  The  cubs  went  every  way  but  the  right  way." 


BORROWED   FIRE.  147 

thorns  upon  the  ground,  which  pricked  the 
bears  as  they  were  dragged  along,  until  the 
black  sluggards  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  easier  to  work  than  to  be  dragged  over 
thorns ;  so  they  arose  to  their  feet,  and  fol 
lowed  the  dogs,  without,  however,  drawing 
an  ounce  of  the  load. 

The  boys  kept  patiently  at  this  sort  of 
training  for  three  weeks ;  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  between  bribes  in  the  way  of  milk 
and  honey,  and  beatings  with  a  thick  stick, 
the  cubs  little  by  little  submitted  to  their 
task,  and  eventually  proved  to  be  real  little 
oxen  at  drawing  a  load.  The  dogs,  of 
course,  had  been  broken  in  easily. 

By  the  time  the  cubs  were  ready  for  work, 
the  hickory  nuts,  walnuts,  and  hazelnuts 
were  ready  to  be  gathered ;  and  the  boys 
only  waited  for  a  heavy  black  frost  to  loosen 
the  nuts  from  their  shells,  and  a  strong  wind 
to  shake  them  from  the  branches. 

During  the  summer  of  which  I  told  you  in 
the  preceding  chapters,  Mr.  Brent  had  raised 
the  roof  of  his  house,  so  as  to  make  a  room 


148    THE  BEARS  OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

in  the  loft  for  the  boys.  This  room  was 
floored  with  rough  boards,  between  which 
large  cracks  were  left,  so  that  heat  from  the 
room  below  might  arise  and  warm  the  boys' 
room.  The  upper  room  was  reached  by  the 
most  primitive  of  stairways.  It  was  nothing 
more  than  a  small  log,  or  thick  pole,  with 
notches  cut  on  each  side  for  footholds,  or 
steps.  In  going  up  this  stairway  the  boys 
climbed  hand  over  hand,  and  foot  over  foot, 
as  a  bear  climbs  a  tree ;  and  to  come  down 
without  falling  was  a  task  of  no  small  pro 
portions  to  one  inexperienced  in  the  art. 

One  morning  Jim  awakened,  and  looked 
out  from  under  the  warm  bearskin  which 
served  for  a  blanket,  comforter,  and  sheet. 
He  listened  for  a  moment  to  the  wind,  which 
was  blowing  a  gale,  and  then  awakened 
Balser. 

"Balser!  Balser !"  said  Jim.  "Wake  up! 
There's  frost  enough  to  freeze  a  brass  mon 
key,  and  the  wind  is  blowing  hard  enough  to 
blow  down  the  trees,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
nuts.  Let's  get  up  and  have  an  early  start." 


BORROWED   FIRE.  149 

Balser  was  willing,  and  soon  the  boys  had 
climbed  out  from  under  the  warm  bearskin, 
and  were  downstairs  preparing  to  kindle  the 
fires. 

The  fire-kindling  was  no  hard  task;  for 
the  backlog  which  had  been  put  in  the  fire 
place  the  evening  before  was  a  great  roll  of 
red  coals,  and  all  that  the  boys  had  to  do  to 
kindle  the  fire  was  to  "  poke  "  the  backlog, 
and  it  fell  in  chunks  of  half-charred,  burn 
ing  hickory,  that  hissed  and  popped  and 
flamed,  and  made  the  room  warm  before  you 
could  say  "  Jack  Robinson."  Then  the  boys 
threw  on  a  large  armful  of  cut  wood,  and 
soon  the  blaze  was  crackling  cozily,  and  the 
kettle  singing  merrily  on  the  flames. 

The  morning  was  cold,  and  the  boys  sat 
upon  the  great  hearth,  with  their  palms  to 
the  fire,  getting  "  good  and  warm  for  the  day," 
while  the  gray,  frosty  dawn  was  slowly  fright 
ening  the  shadows  of  night  away  from  the 
forest,  to  which  they  seemed  to  cling. 

Then  came  the  mother,  who  made  the 
breakfast  of  sweet  fried  venison,  buckwheat- 


ISO    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

cakes  floating  in  maple  syrup  and  butter,  hoe- 
cake,  and  eggs.  Instead  of  coffee  they  drank 
warm  milk,  sweetened  with  maple  sugar, 
and  I  can  tell  you  it  was  a  breakfast  to 
wax  fat  on. 

The  sun  was  hardly  above  the  horizon, 
when  breakfast  was  finished,  and  the  dogs 
and  cubs  were  fed.  Then  they  were  har 
nessed  to  the  wagon,  and  boys,  bears,  dogs, 
and  wagon,  all  started  on  their  way  to  the 
woods.  Hickory  trees  did  not  grow  plenti 
fully  in  the  bottom-lands,  so  the  boys  made 
for  the  hills,  perhaps  a  mile  away. 

Shortly  after  they  had  reached  the  hills, 
Jim  cried  out:  — 

"  Oh,  here's  a  great  big  shellbark !  I'll  bet 
the  ground's  covered  with  nuts." 

Sure  enough,  the  ground  was  covered  with 
them,  and  the  boys  filled  their  wagon  in  a 
very  short  time.  Then  they  started  home. 
The  trip  home  was  marred  by  an  upset, 
owing  to  the  perversity  of  the  cubs ;  but  the 
boys  righted  the  wagon,  loaded  it  with  nuts 
again,  and  after  considerable  trouble  de- 


BORROWED   FIRE.  151 

posited  them  safely  at  home,  and  went  back 
for  another  load. 

The  dog-bear  team  worked  admirably,  bar 
ring  a  general  tendency  to  run  over  logs  and 
stones,  and  two  great  loads  of  hickory  nuts 
were  safely  brought  to  the  house  before 
dinner. 

After  the  boys,  bears,  and  dogs  had  eaten 
a  hurried  meal,  they  again  went  forth  in 
quest  of  nuts;  but  they  took  a  different 
course  this  time,  toward  the  south  —  that  is, 
in  the  direction  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Fox  — 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  a  hazel  thicket, 
which  was  a  mile  from  home.  Soon  the 
hazel  patch  was  reached,  and  about  five 
o'clock  the  wagon  was  full  of  beautiful,  brown 
little  nuts,  than  which  there  is  none  sweeter. 

When  the  wagon  was  loaded  the  boys 
hitched  up  the  team,  much  to  the  delight  of 
the  latter,  for  by  that  time  the  dogs  and  cubs 
had  come  to  think  it  great  sport,  and  the 
caravan  moved  homeward. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  hazel  patch,  the 
boys  entered  a  dark  strip  of  woods  and  under- 


152     THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

growth,  through  which  it  was  very  hard  work 
to  draw  the  wagon.  So  they  attached  a  long 
piece  of  tanned  deerskin  to  the  tongue  of  the 
wagon,  and  gave  the  team  a  helping  hand. 

There  was  but  one  path  through  this  dark 
strip  of  forest  over  which  the  wagon  could  be 
drawn,  and  it  led  through  a  low  piece  of 
ground  that  was  wet  and  marshy.  Upon  the 
soft  earth  of  the  path  Balser  soon  noticed  the 
long,  broad  tracks  of  a  bear,  and  the  dogs  at 
once  began  to  bark  and  plunge  in  their  har 
ness.  The  tracks  appeared  to  Balser  to  be 
an  hour  old,  so  he  quieted  the  dogs,  but  did 
not  release  them  from  the  wagon  as  he  should 
have  done.  The  boys  went  forward,  regard 
less  of  the  warning  bear  tracks,  and  the  dogs 
and  bears,  drawing  the  wagon,  followed 
closely  at  their  heels.  As  they  proceeded 
the  bear  tracks  became  fresher,  and  Balser 
began  to  grow  somewhat  fearful.  Jim  had 
become  frightened,  and  had  taken  a  position 
at  the  rear  of  the  wagon  to  give  a  helping 
hand  by  pushing  at  the  load.  He  said  he 
could  push  better  than  he  could  pull  anyway. 


BORROWED   FIRE.  153 

After  the  little  party  had  got  well  into  the 
darkest  part  of  the  forest,  the  dogs  began  to 
show  such  evident  signs  of  uneasiness  that 
Balser  grasped  his  gun,  and  held  it  in  readi 
ness,  prepared  for  a  fight,  should  one  become 
necessary. 

The  ground  had  been  frozen  earlier  in  the 
day,  but  it  had  thawed,  and  the  path  was 
slippery.  Balser,  who  was  walking  a  short 
distance  ahead  of  the  train,  as  a  sort  of  ad 
vance  guard,  suddenly  stopped  and  held  up 
his  hand  warningly  to  Jim ;  for  right  ahead 
of  him  in  the  path  stood  a  huge  bear,  with 
its  head  turned  backward,  looking  inquiringly 
in  the  direction  of  the  boys.  Jim  at  once 
stopped  the  team.  The  dogs,  of  course,  were 
dancing  with  impatience  to  be  released  from 
the  harness,  and  even  the  dull-witted  bears 
seemed  to  realize  that  something  was  wrong. 

"  It's  running  away,"  said  Balser.  "  It's 
not  safe  to  shoot  at  it  from  behind.  I  might 
wound  it,  and  then  we  should  be  the  ones  to 
run.  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  Let  it  run,"  answered  Jim,  quickly.     "  I 


154    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

don't  like  to  run  with  a  bear  after  me,  any 
way.  If  you're  going  to  shoot,  I'll  run  now 
so  as  to  get  a  good  start." 

"  No,  you  don't !  You  stand  right  where 
you  are,  and  take  care  of  the  team.  If  you 
move  a  foot,  I'll  lick  you,"  answered  Balser, 
as  he  moved  cautiously  ahead  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  retreating  bear. 

Jim  was  frozen  by  fear  to  the  spot  upon 
which  he  stood,  as  Balser  walked  out  of 
sight.  In  a  moment  he  again  heard  Balser 
speak,  and  then  he  heard  a  loud,  deep  growl. 

The  dogs  barked  and  plunged;  the  cubs 
whined  and  gave  forth  savage  little  baby- 
bear  growls,  half  whines,  for  they  were  only 
learning  to  growl.  Jim  began  to  weep  and 
to  scream.  Balser,  who  had  disappeared 
from  sight  around  a  curve  in  the  path,  cried 
out:  — 

"  Let  the  dogs  loose,  for  goodness'  sake, 
Jim!  It's  after  me." 

The  dogs  seemed  to  understand  Balser's 
cry  better  than  Jim  did ;  for  they  barked  and 
plunged  more  violently  than  ever  in  their 


BORROWED   FIRE.  155 

harness.  Jim  seemed  dazed,  and  could  not, 
or  at  least  did  not,  unharness  the  dogs. 
Then  it  was  that  the  good  dog  sense  of  old 
Prince  showed  itself.  Instead  of  waiting  for 
help  from  Jim,  who  he  saw  had  lost  his  wits, 
the  good  dog  began  to  gnaw  at  the  leather 
harness  which  held  him  and  Tige  to  the 
wagon,  and  in  a  short  time  the  dogs  were 
freed  from  the  wagon,  though  still  tied  to 
each  other. 

Tige  caught  inspiration  from  Prince,  and 
the  dogs  backed  away  from  each  other  and 
pulled  with  all  their  strength,  until  the 
harness  slipped  over  the  head  of  Prince 
and  left  the  dogs  free.  Then  Prince 
plunged  rapidly  into  the  thicket  to  the  rescue 
of  his  master,  followed  closely  by  Tige, 
dragging  the  broken  harness. 

"  Help !  help ! "  cried  Balser.  "Why  don't 
you  send  the  dogs  ?  "  And  his  voice  seemed 
to  be  going  farther  and  farther  away. 

"  Where  are  you  ?  "  cried  Jim,  in  despair. 
His  terror  was  so  strong  upon  him  that  he 
could  not  move,  and  could  not  have  helped 


i$6    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

Balser,  had  he  been  able  to  go  to  him.  Jim 
was  a  little  fellow,  you  must  remember. 

"  Help !  help ! "  cried  Balser  again,  his 
voice  sounding  from  a  still  greater  distance. 
"  I've  wounded  it,  and  it's  about  to  kill  me. 
Help !  help ! "  but  the  cries  came  fainter  and 
fainter. 

Jim  stood  his  ground  and  screamed  man 
fully.  Soon  after  Balser  had  left  Jim  and 
the  wagon,  the  bear  turned  toward  its  pur 
suer  and  presented  to  Balser  its  broadside. 
This  gave  the  boy  a  good  chance  for  a  shot. 
For  the  moment,  Balser  forgot  his  father's 
admonition  to  be  deliberate  and  to  act  slowly, 
and  his  forgetfulness  almost  cost  him  his  life. 
Balser  shot,  and  wounded  the  bear  in  the 
neck,  but  did  not  kill  it.  Then  it  turned, 
and  Balser,  fearing  to  run  back  upon  the 
path  lest  he  should  bring  the  bear  upon  Jim, 
started  into  the  thicket,  toward  the  river,  with 
the  bear  in  hot  pursuit.  Balser  gained  rap 
idly  upon  the  bear  at  first,  but  he  knew  that 
his  advantage  could  not  last,  for  the  bear 
was  sure  to  catch  him  soon.  What  should 


BORROWED   FIRE.  157 

he  do?  He  hastily  went  over  in  his  mind 
the  possibilities  in  the  case,  and  soon  deter 
mined  to  put  forth  his  utmost  speed  to  gain 
as  much  upon  the  bear  as  possible,  and  then 
to  climb  the  first  tree,  of  the  proper  size,  to 
which  he  should  come.  With  this  intent  he 
flung  his  carbine  over  his  back,  by  a  strap 
attached  to  the  gun  for  that  purpose,  and  ran 
for  dear  life. 

Soon  the  boy  reached  a  small  beech  tree, 
the  branches  of  which  were  ten  or  twelve 
feet  from  the  ground.  Up  this  tree  he 
climbed  with  the  agility  of  a  squirrel.  He 
afterward  said :  — 

"  I  was  so  badly  scared  that  it  seemed  as 
if  my  hands  and  feet  had  claws  like  a  wild 
cat." 

The  bear  had  followed  so  closely  upon  his 
track,  that,  just  as  the  boy  was  about  to  draw 
himself  up  among  the  branches  of  the  tree, 
the  bear  rose  upon  its  hind  legs  and  caught 
the  boy's  toes  between  his  teeth.  Balser 
screamed  with  pain,  and  tried  to  draw  his 
foot  away;  but  the  harder  he  pulled  the 


158    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

harder  pulled  the  bear,  and  the  pain  was  so 
great  that  he  thought  he  could  not  stand  it. 
While  he  clung  to  the  limb  with  one  hand, 
he  reached  toward  the  bear  with  the  other, 
and  caught  it  by  the  nose.  He  twisted  the 
bear's  nose  until  the  brute  let  loose  of  his 
foot.  Then  he  quickly  drew  himself  into 
the  tree,  and  seated  himself  none  too  soon 
astride  of  a  limb. 

When  Balser  had  fixed  himself  firmly  on 
the  limb  he  proceeded  at  once  to  load  his 
gun.  This  was  no  slight  matter  under  the 
circumstances;  for,  aside  from  the  fact  that 
his  position  in  the  tree  was  an  uneasy  one, 
the  branches  were  in  his  way  when  he  began 
to  use  his  ramrod.  Balser  had  hardly  poured 
the  powder  into  his  gun,  when  the  bear  again 
rose  on  its  hind  legs,  and  put  its  front  paws 
upon  the  body  of  the  tree,  with  evident 
intent  to  climb  after  the  boy  who  had 
wounded  it  and  had  so  insultingly  twisted 
its  nose.  Bears  like  to  scratch  the  bark  of 
trees,  and  seem  to  take  the  same  pride  in 
placing  their  marks  high  upon  the  tree- 


BORROWED   FIRE.  159 

trunks  that  a  young  man  does  in  making  a 
long  jump  or  a  good  shot.  Vanity,  in  this 
case,  proved  to  be  the  bear's  undoing,  as  it 
has  often  been  with  men  and  boys.  When 
it  was  reaching  upward  to  make  a  high 
scratch,  that  it  thought  would  be  the  envy 
of  every  bear  that  would  see  it,  it  should 
have  been  climbing ;  for  while  it  was  scratch 
ing  Balser  was  loading,  Not  hurriedly,  as 
he  had  shot,  but  slowly  and  deliberately, 
counting  one,  two,  three  with  every  move 
ment;  for  when  he  had  shot  so  hurriedly  a 
few  minutes  before  and  had  only  wounded 
the  bear,  he  had  again  learned  the  great 
lesson  to  make  haste  slowly.  The  lesson 
was  to  be  impressed  upon  Balser's  mind 
more  firmly  than  ever  before  he  was  through 
with  the  wounded  bear;  for  to  the  day  of 
his  death  he  never  forgot  the  events  which 
befell  him  after  he  came  down  from  the 
tree.  Although  Balser  was  deliberate,  he 
had  no  time  to  waste,  for  soon  the  bear 
began  climbing  the  tree,  aided  by  a  few 
small  branches  upon  the  lower  part  of  the 


160    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

trunk,  which  had  given  help  to  Balser.  Up 
the  bear  went,  slowly  and  surely.  Its  great 
red  tongue  hang  out  at  one  side  of  its 
mouth,  and  its  black,  woolly  coat  was  red 
and  gory  with  blood  from  the  wound  that 
Balser  had  inflicted  upon  its  huge  neck. 
Its  sharp  little  eyes  were  fixed  upon  Balser, 
and  seemed  to  blaze  with  fury  and  rage, 
and  its  long  bright  teeth  gleamed  as  its  lips 
were  drawn  back  in  anger  when  it  growled. 
Still  the  bear  climbed,  and  still  Balser  was 
loading  his  gun.  Would  he  have  it  loaded 
before  the  bear  reached  him?  Now  the 
powder  was  all  in  —  a  double  charge.  Now 
the  first  patch  was  in,  and  Balser  was  try 
ing  to  ram  it  home.  The  branches  of  the 
trees  were  in  his  way,  and  the  ramrod  would 
not  go  into  the  gun.  Inanimate  things  are 
often  stubborn  just  when  docility  is  most 
needed.  Ah  !  At  last  the  ramrod  is  in,  and 
the  first  patch  goes  home,  hard  and  fast 
upon  the  powder.  On  comes  the  bear,  paw 
over  paw,  foot  over  foot,  taking  its  time  with 
painful  deliberation,  and,  bearlike,  carefully 


"  The  bear  rose  to  climb  after  the  boy." 


BORROWED   FIRE.  161 

choosing  its  way ;  for  it  thinks  full  sure  the 
boy  cannot  escape.  Hurriedly  Balser  reaches 
into  his  pouch  for  a  bullet.  He  finds  one 
and  puts  it  to  the  muzzle  of  his  gun.  Ah ! 
worse  luck !  The  bullet  will  not  go  in.  It 
is  too  large.  Balser  feels  with  his  finger  a 
little  ridge  extending  around  the  bullet,  left 
there  because  he  had  not  held  the  bullet 
moulds  tightly  together  when  he  had  cast 
the  bullet.  The  boy  impatiently  throws  the 
worthless  bullet  at  the  bear  and  puts  his 
hand  into  the  pouch  for  another.  This 
time  the  bullet  goes  in,  and  the  ramrod 
drives  it  home.  Still  there  is  the  last  patch 
to  drive  down,  —  the  one  which  holds  the 
bullet,  —  and  still  the  bear  climbs  toward 
its  intended  victim.  Its  growls  seem  to 
shake  the  tree  and  its  eyes  look  like  burning 
embers.  The  patches  and  the  bullets  Balser 
kept  in  the  same  pouch,  so,  when  the  bullet 
has  been  driven  home,  the  boy's  hand  again 
goes  into  the  pouch  for  the  last  patch.  He 
can  find  nothing  but  bullets.  Down  goes 
his  hand  to  each  corner  of  the  pouch  in 


162    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

search  of  a  patch ;  but  alas !  the  patch,  like 
a  false  friend,  is  wanting  when  most  needed. 
On  comes  the  bear.  Not  a  moment  is  to  be 
lost.  A  patch  must  be  found ;  so  the  boy 
snatches  off  his  cap  of  squirrel  skin,  and 
with  his  teeth  bites  out  a  piece  of  the  skin 
which  will  answer  his  purpose.  Then  he 
dashes  the  mutilated  cap  in  the  bear's  face, 
only  a  foot  or  two  below  him.  Quickly  is 
the  squirrel-skin  patch  driven  home,  but 
none  too  quickly,  for  the  bear  is  at  Balser's 
feet,  reaching  for  him  with  his  great,  rough, 
horny  paw,  as  a  cat  reaches  for  a  mouse. 
Balser  quickly  lifts  himself  to  the  limb  above 
him,  and  hurriedly  turning  the  muzzle  of 
his  gun  right  into  the  great  red  mouth, 
pulls  the  trigger.  Bang!  And  the  bear 
falls  to  the  ground,  where  it  lies  apparently 
dead.  It  was  only  apparently  dead,  though, 
as  you  will  presently  see.  Balser  breathed  a 
sigh  of  relief  as  the  bear  fell  backward,  for 
he  was  sure  that  he  had  killed  it.  No  bear, 
thought  he,  could  survive  a  bullet  driven  by 
the  heavy  charge  of  powder  behind  the  one 


BORROWED   FIRE.  163 

which  had  sped  so  truly  into  the  bear's 
mouth.  Again  Balser  failed  to  make  haste 
slowly.  He  should  have  remained  in  his  se 
cure  position  until  he  was  sure  that  the  bear 
was  really  dead ;  for  a  badly  wounded  bear, 
although  at  the  point  of  death,  is  more 
dangerous  than  one  without  a  scar.  With 
out  looking  at  the  bear  Balser  called  Jim 
to  come  to  him,  and  began  climbing  down 
the  tree,  with  his  carbine  slung  over  his 
shoulder,  and  his  back  to  the  bear.  All  this 
happened  in  a  very  short  space  of  time.  In 
fact,  the  time  during  which  Balser  was  load 
ing  his  gun,  and  while  the  bear  was  climb 
ing  the  tree,  was  the  same  time  in  which 
the  dogs  were  freeing  themselves  from  the 
wagon ;  and  Balser's  second  shot  was  heard 
by  Jim  just  as  the  dogs  went  bounding  off 
to  Balser's  relief.  When  the  boy  jumped 
to  the  ground,  lo  !  the  bear  was  alive  again, 
and  was  on  its  feet,  more  ferocious  than 
ever,  and  more  eager  for  fight.  Like  our 
American  soldiers,  the  bear  did  not  know 
when  it  was  whipped. 


164    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

At  the  time  the  dogs  bounded  away  from 
Jim,  there  came  down  the  path  toward  him 
a  young  girl.  Who  do  you  think  it  was? 
Liney  Fox.  She  was  carrying  in  her  hand 
a  lighted  torch,  and  was  swinging  it  gently 
from  side  to  side  that  she  might  keep  it 
ablaze.  This  was  the  fire  which  Liney  had 
been  sent  to  borrow.  She  had  heard  Bal- 
ser's  cry  and  had  heard  both  the  shots  that 
Balser  had  fired.  She  ran  quickly  to  Jim, 
and  with  some  difficulty  drew  from  him  an 
explanation  of  the  situation.  Then,  as  the 
dogs  bounded  away,  she  followed  them,  feel 
ing  sure  that  their  instinct  would  lead  them 
to  Balser.  The  girl's  strength  seemed  to 
be  increased  a  thousand  fold,  and  she  ran 
after  the  dogs  in  the  hope  that  she  might 
help  the  boy  who  had  saved  her  life  upon 
the  night  when  she  was  lost  in  the  forest. 
How  could  she  help  him?  She  did  not 
know ;  but  she  would  at  least  go  to  him  and 
do  her  best. 

Just  as  Balser  reached  the  ground,  the 
bear  raised  itself  upon  its  hind  feet  and 


BORROWED   FIRE.  165 

struck  at  the  boy,  but  missed  him.  Then 
Balser  ran  to  the  side  of  the  tree  opposite 
the  bear,  and  bear  and  boy  for  a  few  mo 
ments  played  at  a  desperate  game  of  hide- 
and-seek  around  the  tree.  It  seemed  a  very 
long  time  to  Balser.  He  soon  learned  that 
the  bear  could  easily  beat  him  at  the  game, 
and  in  desperation  he  started  to  run  toward 
the  river,  perhaps  two  hundred  yards  away. 
He  cried  for  help  as  he  ran,  and  at  that 
moment  the  dogs  came  up,  and  Liney  fol 
lowed  in  frantic,  eager  haste  after  them. 
Balser  had  thrown  away  his  gun,  and  was 
leading  the  bear  in  the  race  perhaps  six  or 
eight  feet.  Close  upon  the  heels  of  the  bear 
were  the  dogs,  and  closer  than  you  would 
think  upon  the  heels  of  the  dogs  came 
Liney.  Her  bonnet  had  fallen  back  and 
her  hair  was  flying  behind  her,  and  the 
torch  was  all  ablaze  by  reason  of  its  rapid 
movement  through  the  air. 

At  the  point  upon  the  river's  bank  toward 
which  Balser  ran  was  a  little  stone  cliff, 
almost  perpendicular,  the  top  of  which  was 


166    THE   BEARS  OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  water.  Balser 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  if  he  could  reach 
this  cliff  he  would  jump  into  the  river,  and 
perhaps  save  himself  in  that  manner.  Just 
as  the  boy  reached  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
Liney  unfortunately  called  out  "  Balser ! " 

Her  voice  stopped  him  for  a  moment,  and 
he  looked  back  toward  her.  In  that  mo 
ment  the  bear  overtook  him  and  felled  him 
to  the  ground  with  a  stroke  of  its  paw. 
Balser  felt  benumbed  and  was  almost  sense 
less.  Instantly  the  bear  was  standing  over 
him,  and  the  boy  was  blinded  by  the  stream 
of  blood  which  flowed  into  his  eyes  and 
over  his  face  from  the  wound  in  the  bear's 
great  mouth.  He  felt  the  bear  shake  him, 
as  a  cat  shakes  a  mouse,  and  then  for  a 
moment  the  sun  seemed  to  go  out,  and 
all  was  dark.  He  could  see  nothing.  He 
heard  the  dogs  bark,  as  they  clung  to  the 
bear's  ears  and  neck  close  to  his  face,  and 
he  heard  Liney  scream;  but  it  all  seemed 
like  a  far-away  dream.  Then  he  felt  some 
thing  burn  his  face,  and  sparks  and  hot 


BORROWED  FIRE.  167 

ashes  fell  upon  his  skin  and  blistered  him. 
He  could  not  see  what  was  happening,  but 
the  pain  of  the  burns  seemed  to  revive  him, 
and  he  was  conscious  that  he  was  relieved 
from  the  terrible  weight  of  the  bear  upon 
his  breast.  This  is  what  happened:  after 
Balser  had  fallen,  the  dogs  had  held  the 
bear's  attention  for  a  brief  moment  or  two, 
and  had  given  Liney  time  to  reach  the  scene 
of  conflict.  The  bear  had  caught  Balser's 
leather  coat  between  its  jaws,  and  was  shak 
ing  him  just  as  Liney  came  up.  It  is 
said  that  the  shake  which  a  cat  gives  a 
mouse  produces  unconsciousness;  and  so  it 
is  true  that  the  shake  which  the  larger  ani 
mals  give  to  their  prey  before  killing  it  has 
a  benumbing  effect,  such  as  Balser  felt. 
When  Liney  reached  Balser  and  the  bear, 
she  had  no  weapon  but  her  torch,  but  with 
true  feminine  intuition  she  did,  without  stop 
ping  to  think,  the  only  thing  she  could  do, 
and  for  that  matter  the  best  thing  that  any 
one  could  have  done.  She  thrust  the  burn 
ing  torch  into  the  bear's  face  and  held  it 


168    THE  BEARS  OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

there,  despite  its  rage  and  growls.  Then 
it  was  that  Balser  felt  the  heat  and  sparks, 
and  then  it  was  that  the  bear,  blinded  by 
the  fire,  left  Balser.  The  bear  was  frantic 
with  pain,  and  began  to  rub  its  eyes  and 
face  with  its  paws,  just  as  a  man  would  do 
under  the  same  circumstances.  It  staggered 
about  in  rage  and  blindness,  making  the 
forest  echo  with  its  frightful  growls,  until  it 
was  upon  the  edge  of  the  little  precipice  of 
which  I  have  spoken.  Then  Liney  struck 
it  again  with  her  burning  torch,  and  gave 
it  a  push,  which,  although  her  strength  was 
slight,  sent  the  bear  rolling  over  the  cliff  into 
the  river.  After  that  she  ran  back  to  Balser, 
who  was  still  lying  upon  the  ground,  covered 
with  blood.  She  thought  he  was  terribly 
wounded,  so  she  tore  off  her  muslin  petti 
coat,  and  wiped  the  blood  from  Balser's 
face  and  hands.  Her  joy  was  great  when 
she  learned  that  it  was  the  bear's  blood 
and  not  Balser's  that  she  saw.  The  boy 
soon  rose  to  his  feet,  dazed  and  half 
blinded. 


Liney  thrust  the  burning  torch  into  the  bear's  face  and  held  it  there 
despite  its  rage  and  growls." 


BORROWED   FIRE.  169 

"  Where's  the  bear  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  We  pushed  him  into  the  river,"  said 
Jim,  who  had  come  in  at  the  last  moment. 

"  Yes,  '  we  pushed  him  in,' "  said  Balser, 
in  derision.  "  Liney,  did  you  —  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Liney.  "  I  don't  know 
how  I  did  it;  but  after  I  had  put  my  torch 
in  the  bear's  face,  when  he  was  over  you,  I  — 
I  pushed  him  into  the  river."  And  she  cast 
down  her  sweet,  modest  eyes,  as  if  ashamed 
of  what  she  had  done. 

"  Liney,  Liney  —  "  began  Balser ;  but  his 
voice  was  choked  by  a  great  lump  of  sobs  in 
his  throat.  "  Liney,  Liney  — "  he  began 
again ;  but  his  gratitude  was  so  great  he 
could  not  speak.  He  tried  again,  and  the 
tears  came  in  a  flood. 

"  Cry-baby ! "  said  Jim. 

"  Jim,  you're  a  little  fool,"  said  Liney,  turn 
ing  upon  the  youngster  with  a  blaze  of  anger 
in  her  eyes. 

" Jim's  right,"  sobbed  Balser.  "I  — lam 
a  c-c-cry-baby." 

"  No,  no !  Balser,"  said  Liney,  soothingly, 


170    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

as  she  took  his  hand.  "  I  know.  I  under 
stand  without  you  telling  me." 

" Yes,"  sobbed  Balser,  "I  —  I  —  c-c-cry  — 
because — I  —  thank  you  so  much." 

"  Don't  say  that,  Balser,"  answered  Liney. 
"  Think  of  the  night  in  the  forest,  and  think 
of  what  you  did  for  me." 

"Oh!     But  I'm  a  boy." 

Balser  was  badly  bruised,  but  was  not 
wounded,  except  in  the  foot  where  the  bear 
had  caught  him  as  he  climbed  the  tree. 
That  wound,  however,  was  slight,  and  would 
heal  quickly.  The  cubs  had  broken  away 
from  the  loaded  wagon,  and  Jim,  Liney, 
Balser,  dogs,  and  cubs  all  marched  back  to 
Mr.  Brent's  in  a  slow  and  silent  procession, 
leaving  the  load  of  nuts  upon  the  path,  and 
the  bear  dead  upon  a  ripple  in  the  river. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   FIRE  BEAR. 

ONE  evening  in  December,  a  few  weeks 
after  Liney  had  saved  Balser's  life  by  means 
of  the  borrowed  fire,  Balser's  father  and 
mother  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox,  went  to 
Marion,  a  town  of  two  houses  and  a  church, 
three  miles  away,  to  attend  "  Protracted 
Meeting."  Liney  and  Tom  and  the  Fox 
baby  remained  with  Balser  and  Jim  and  the 
Brent  baby,  at  the  Brent  cabin. 

When  the  children  were  alone  Liney  pro 
ceeded  to  put  the  babies  to  sleep,  and  when 
those  small  heads  of  their  respective  house 
holds  were  dead  to  the  world  in  slumber, 
rocked  to  that  happy  condition  in  a  cradle 
made  from  the  half  of  a  round,  smooth  log, 
hollowed  out  with  an  adze,  the  other  children 
huddled  together  in  the  fireplace  to  talk  and 

to  play  games.     Chief  among  the  games  was 

171 


1/2    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

that  never  failing  source  of  delight,  "  Simon 
says  thumbs  up." 

Outside  the  house  the  wind,  blowing 
through  the  trees  of  the  forest,  rose  and 
sank  in  piteous  wails  and  moans,  by  turns, 
and  the  snow  fell  in  angry,  fitful  blasts,  and 
whirled  and  turned,  eddied  and  drifted,  as 
if  it  were  a  thing  of  life.  The  weather 
was  bitter  cold;  but  the  fire  on  the  great 
hearth  in  front  of  the  children  seemed  to  feel 
that  while  the  grown  folks  were  away  it  was 
its  duty  to  be  careful  of  the  children,  and 
to  be  gentle,  tender,  and  comforting  to  them ; 
so  it  spluttered,  popped,  and  cracked  like 
the  sociable,  amiable,  and  tender-hearted  fire 
that  it  was.  It  invited  the  children  to  go 
near  it  and  to  take  its  warmth,  and  told,  as 
plainly  as  a  fire  could,  —  and  a  fire  can  talk, 
not  English  perhaps,  but  a  very  understand 
able  language  of  its  own, — that  it  would 
not  burn  them  for  worlds.  So,  as  I  said, 
the  children  sat  inside  the  huge  fireplace, 
and  cared  little  whether  or  not  the  cold  north 
wind  blew. 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  173 

After  "Simon"  had  grown  tiresome, 
Liney  told  riddles,  all  of  which  Tom,  who 
had  heard  them  before,  spoiled  by  giving  the 
answer  before  the  others  had  a  chance  to 
guess.  Then  Limpy  propounded  a  few  rid 
dles,  but  Liney,  who  had  often  heard  them, 
would  not  disappoint  her  brother  by  telling 
the  answers.  Balser  noticed  this,  and  said, 
"  Limpy,  you  ought  to  take  a  few  lessons  in 
good  manners  from  your  sister." 

"  Why  ought  I  ? "  asked  Tom,  somewhat 
indignantly. 

"  Because  she  doesn't  tell  your  riddles  as 
you  told  hers,"  answered  Balser. 

"  He  wants  to  show  off,"  said  Jim. 

"  No,  he  doesn't,"  said  Liney.  But  she 
cast  a  grateful  glance  at  Balser,  which  said, 
"  Thank  you  "  as  plainly  as  if  she  had  spoken 
the  words.  Tom  hung  his  head,  and  said  he 
didn't  like  riddles  anyway. 

"  Let's  crack  some  nuts,"  proposed  Jim, 
who  was  always  hungry. 

This  proposition  seemed  agreeable  to  all, 
so  Balser  brought  in  a  large  gourd  filled 


174    THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

with  nuts,  and  soon  they  were  all  busy  crack 
ing  and  picking. 

Then  Liney  told  stories  from  "  The  Pil 
grim's  Progress  "  and  the  Bible.  She  was  at 
the  most  thrilling  part  of  the  story  of  Daniel 
in  the  lions'  den,  and  her  listeners  were 
eager,  nervous,  and  somewhat  fearful,  when 
the  faint  cry  of  "  Help ! "  seemed  to  come 
right  down  through  the  mouth  of  the 
chimney. 

"  Listen ! "  whispered  Balser,  holding  up 
his  hands  for  silence.  In  a  moment  came 
again  the  cry,  "  Help ! "  The  second  cry 
was  still  faint,  but  louder  than  the  first ;  and 
the  children  sprang  together  with  a  common 
impulse,  and  clung  to  Balser  in  unspoken 
fear. 

"  Help !  help !  "  came  the  cry,  still  nearer 
and  louder. 

"  Some  one  wants  help,"  whispered  Balser. 
"  I — must — go — to — him."  The  latter 
clause  was  spoken  rather  hesitatingly. 

"  No,  no ! "  cried  Liney.  "  You  must  not 
go.  It  may  be  Indians  trying  to  get  you 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  175 

out  there  to  kill  you,  or  it  may  be  a  ghost. 
You'll  surely  be  killed  if  you  go." 

Liney's  remark  somewhat  frightened 
Balser,  and  completely  frightened  the  other 
children;  but  it  made  Balser  feel  all  the 
more  that  he  must  not  be  a  coward  before 
her.  However  much  he  feared  to  go  in 
response  to  the  cry  for  help,  he  must  not  let 
Liney  see  that  he  was  afraid.  Besides,  the 
boy  knew  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go;  and 
although  with  Balser  the  sense  of  duty 
moved  more  slowly  than  the  sense  of  fear, 
yet  it  moved  more  surely.  So  he  quickly 
grasped  his  gun,  and  carefully  examined  the 
load  and  priming.  Then  he  took  a  torch, 
lighted  it  at  the  fire,  and  out  he  rushed  into 
the  blinding,  freezing  storm. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  cried  Balser,  holding  his 
torch  on  high. 

"  Help !  help !  "  came  the  cry  from  a  short 
distance  down  the  river,  evidently  in  the 
forest  back  of  the  barn.  Balser  hurried  in 
the  direction  whence  the  cry  had  come,  and 
when  he  had  proceeded  one  hundred  yards 


176    THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

or  so,  he  met  a  man  running  toward  him, 
almost  out  of  breath  from  fright  and  exhaus 
tion.  Balser's  torch  had  been  extinguished 
by  the  wind,  snow,  and  sleet,  and  he  could 
not  see  the  man's  face. 

"  Who  are  you,  and  what's  the  matter 
with  you  ?  "  asked  brave  little  Balser,  mean 
while  keeping  his  gun  ready  to  shoot,  if 
need  be. 

"  Don't  you  know  me,  Balser  ? "  gasped 
the  other. 

"  Is  it  you,  Polly  ?  "  asked  Balser.  "  What 
on  earth's  the  matter  ?  " 

"The  Fire  Bear!  The  Fire  Bear!"  cried 
Poll.  "  He's  been  chasin'  me  fur  Lord 
knows  how  long.  There  he  goes  !  There ! 
Don't  you  see  him?  He's  movin'  down  to 
the  river.  He's  crossin'  the  river  on  the 
ice  now.  There !  There !  "  And  he 
pointed  in  the  direction  he  wished  Balser 
to  look.  Sure  enough,  crossing  on  the  ice 
below  the  barn,  was  the  sharply  defined 
form  of  a  large  bear,  glowing  in  the  dark 
ness  of  the  night  as  if  it  were  on  fire. 


Help!  help!'    came  the  cry.' 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  177 

This  was  more  than  even  Balser's  courage 
could  withstand ;  so  he  started  for  the  house 
as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him,  and 
Polly  came  panting  and  screaming  at  his 
heels. 

Polly's  name,  I  may  say,  was  Samuel 
Parrott.  He  was  a  harmless,  simple  fellow, 
a  sort  of  hanger-on  of  the  settlement,  and 
his  surname,  which  few  persons  remembered, 
had  suggested  the  nickname  of  Poll,  or 
Polly,  by  which  he  was  known  far  and 
wide. 

By  the  time  Balser  had  reached  the 
house  he  was  ashamed  of  his  precipitate 
retreat,  and  proposed  that  he  and  Polly 
should  go  out  and  further  investigate  the 
Fire  Bear. 

This  proposition  met  with  such  a  decided 
negative  from  Polly,  and  such  a  vehement 
chorus  of  protests  from  Liney  and  the 
other  children,  that  Balser,  with  reluctance 
in  his  manner,  but  gladness  in  his  heart, 
consented  to  remain  indoors,  and  to  let  the 
Fire  Bear  take  his  way  unmolested. 


i;8    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

"  When  did  you  first  see  him  ? "  asked 
Balser  of  Polly  Parrot. 

"'Bout  a  mile  down  the  river,  by  Fox's 
Bluff,"  responded  Polly.  "  I've  been  run- 
nin'  every  step  of  the  way,  jist  as  hard  as 
I  could  run,  and  that  there  Fire  Bear  not 
more'n  ten  feet  behind  me,  growlin'  like 
thunder,  and  blazin'  and  smokin'  away  like 
a  bonfire." 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Balser.  "  He  wasn't 
blazing  when  I  saw  him." 

"  Of  course  he  wasn't,"  responded  Poll. 
"  He'd  about  burned  out.  D'ye  think  a 
bear  could  blaze  away  forever  like  a  vol 
cano  ? "  Poll's  logical  statement  seemed  to 
be  convincing  to  the  children. 

"  And  he  blazed  up,  did  he  ? "  asked 
Liney,  her  bright  eyes  large  with  wonder 
and  fear. 

"Blazed  up!"  ejaculated  Polly.  "Bless 
your  soul,  Liney,  don't  you  see  how  hot  I 
am?  Would  a  man  be  sweatin'  like  I  am 
on  such  a  night  as  this,  unless  he's  been 
powerful  nigh  to  a  mighty  hot  fire  ? " 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  179 

Poll's  corroborative  evidence  was  too 
strong  for  doubt  to  contend  against,  and  a 
depressing  conviction  fell  upon  the  entire 
company,  including  Balser,  that  it  was 
really  the  Fire  Bear  which  Polly  and  Balser 
had  seen.  Although  Balser,  in  common 
with  most  of  the  settlers,  had  laughed  at 
the  stories  of  the  Fire  Bear  which  had 
been  told  in  the  settlement,  yet  now  he 
was  convinced,  because  he  had  seen  it 
with  his  own  eyes.  It  was  true  that  the 
bear  was  not  ablaze  when  he  saw  him,  but 
certainly  he  looked  like  a  great  glowing 
ember,  and,  with  Polly's  testimony,  Balser 
was  ready  to  believe  all  he  had  heard  con 
cerning  this  most  frightful  spectre  of  Blue 
River,  the  Fire  Bear. 

One  of  the  stories  concerning  the  Fire 
Bear  was  to  the  effect  that  when  he  was 
angry  he  blazed  forth  into  a  great  flame,  and 
that  when  he  was  not  angry  he  was  simply 
aglow.  At  times,  when  the  forests  were 
burned,  or  when  barns  or  straw-stacks  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  many  persons,  especially  of 


i8o    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

the  ignorant  class,  attributed  the  incendiarism 
to  the  Fire  Bear.  Others,  who  pretended  to 
more  wisdom,  charged  the  Indians  with  the 
crimes.  Of  the  latter  class  had  been  Balser. 
But  to  see  is  to  believe. 

Another  superstition  about  the  Fire  Bear 
was,  that  any  person  who  should  be  so  unfor 
tunate  as  to  behold  him  would  die  within 
three  months  after  seeing  him,  unless  per 
chance  he  could  kill  the  Fire  Bear,  —  a  task 
which  would  necessitate  the  use  of  a  potent 
charm,  for  the  Fire  Bear  bore  a  charmed  life. 
The  Fire  Bear  had  been  seen,  within  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant,  by  eight  or 
ten  persons,  always  after  night.  Each  one 
who  had  seen  the  bear  had  died  within  the 
three  months  following.  He  had  been 
stalked  by  many  hunters,  and  although 
several  opportunities  to  kill  him  had  oc 
curred,  yet  no  one  had  accomplished  that 
much-desired  event. 

You  may  be  sure  there  were  no  more 
games,  riddles,  or  nut-cracking  that  evening 
in  the  Brent  cabin.  The  children  stood  for 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  181 

a  few  moments  in  a  frightened  group,  and 
then  took  their  old  places  on  the  logs  inside 
the  fireplace.  Polly,  who  was  stupid  with 
fright,  stood  for  a  short  time  silently  facing 
the  fire,  and  then  said  mournfully :  "  Balser, 
you  and  me  had  better  jine  the  church. 
We're  goners  inside  the  next  three  months, 
—  goners,  just  as  sure  as  my  name's  Polly." 
Then  meditatively,  "  A  durned  sight  surer 
than  that;  for  my  name  ain't  Polly  at  all; 
but  Samuel,  or  Thomas,  or  Bill,  or  something 
like  that,  I  furgit  which ;  but  we're  goners, 
Balser,  and  we  might  as  well  git  ready.  No 
livin'  bein'  ever  seed  that  bear  and  was  alive 
three  months  afterwards." 

Then  Liney,  who  was  sitting  next  to 
Balser,  touched  his  arm  gently,  and  said :  — 

"  I  saw  him  too.  I  followed  you  a  short 
way  when  you  went  out,  and  I  saw  something 
bright  crossing  the  river  on  the  ice  just  below 
the  barn.  Was  that  the  bear  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  cried  Balser.  "  For  goodness ' 
sake,  Liney,  why  didn't  you  stay  in  the 
house  ?  " 


182    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

"  You  bet  I  stayed  in,"  said  Jim. 

"  And  so  did  I,"  said  Tom. 

No  one  paid  any  attention  to  what  Jim 
and  Limpy  said,  and  in  a  moment  Liney  was 
weeping  gently  with  her  face  in  her  hands. 

Jim  and  Limpy  then  began  to  cry,  and 
soon  Polly  was  boohooing  as  if  he  were 
already  at  the  point  of  death.  It  required 
all  of  Balser's  courage  and  strength  to  keep 
back  the  tears,  but  in  a  moment  he  rose  to 
his  feet  and  said :  "  Stop  your  crying,  every 
body.  I'll  kill  that  bear  before  the  three 
months  is  half  gone;  yes,  before  a  month 
has  passed.  If  Liney  saw  him,  the  bear 
dies;  that  settles  it." 

Liney  looked  up  to  Balser  gratefully,  and 
then,  turning  to  Polly,  said :  — 

"  He'll  save  us,  Polly ;  he  killed  the  one- 
eared  bear,  and  it  was  enough  sight  worse 
to  fight  than  the  Fire  Bear.  The  one-eared 
bear  was  a  —  was  a  devil." 

Polly  did  not  share  Liney's  confidence ; 
so  he  sat  down  upon  the  hearth,  and  gazed 
sadly  at  the  fire  awhile.  Then,  taking  his 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  183 

elbow  for  his  pillow,  he  lay  upon  the  floor 
and  moaned  himself  to  sleep. 

The  children  sat  in  silence  for  a  short 
time ;  and  Jim  lay  down  beside  Polly,  and 
closed  his  eyes  in  slumber.  Then  Limpy's 
head  began  to  nod,  and  soon  Limpy  was  in 
the  land  of  dreams.  Balser  and  Liney  sat 
upon  the  spare  backlog  for  perhaps  half  an 
hour,  without  speaking. 

The  deep  bed  of  live  coals  cast  a  rosy 
glow  upon  their  faces,  and  the  shadows  back 
in  the  room  grew  darker,  as  the  flame  of  the 
neglected  fire  died  out.  Now  and  then  a 
fitful  blaze  would  start  from  a  broken  ember, 
and  the  shadows  danced  for  a  moment  over 
the  floor  and  ceiling  like  sombre  spectres, 
but  Balser  and  Liney  saw  them  not. 

Despite  their  disbelief  in  the  existence  of 
the  Fire  Bear,  the  overwhelming  evidence 
of  the  last  two  hours  had  brought  to  them 
a  frightful  conviction  of  the  truth  of  all  they 
had  heard  about  the  uncanny,  fatal  monster. 
Three  short  months  of  life  was  all  that  was 
left  to  them.  Such  had  been  the  fate  of  all 


184    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

who  had  beheld  the  Fire  Bear.  Such  cer 
tainly  would  be  their  fate  unless  Balser  could 
kill  him  —  an  event  upon  which  Liney  built 
much  greater  hope  than  did  Balser. 

After  a  long  time  Balser  spoke,  in  a  low 
tone,  that  he  might  not  disturb  the  others :  — 

"  Liney,  if  I  only  had  a  charm,  I  might 
kill  the  Fire  Bear;  but  a  gun  by  itself  can 
do  nothing  against  a  monster  that  bears  a 
charmed  life.  We  must  have  a  charm. 
You've  read  so  many  books  and  you  know 
so  much ;  can't  you  think  of  a  charm  that 
would  help  me  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  Balser,"  sighed  Liney,  "  you  know 
more  than  I,  a  thousand  times." 

"  Nonsense,  Liney.  Didn't  you  spell  down 
everybody  —  even  the  grown  folks  —  over  at 
Caster's  bee  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  I  did ;  but  spelling  isn't 
everything,  Balser.  It's  mighty  little,  and 
don't  teach  us  anything  about  charms.  You 
might  know  how  to  spell  every  word  in  a  big 
book,  and  still  know  nothing  about  charms." 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  responded   Balser, 


THE  FIRE  BEAR.  185 

dolefully.  "  I  wonder  how  we  can  learn  to 
make  a  charm." 

"  Maybe  the  Bible  would  teach  us,"  said 
Liney.  "  They  say  it  teaches  us  nearly 
everything." 

"  I  expect  it  would,"  responded  Balser. 
"  Suppose  you  try  it." 

"  I  will,"  answered  Liney.  Silence  ensued 
once  more,  broken  only  by  the  moaning 
wind  and  the  occasional  popping  of  the 
backlog. 

After  a  few  minutes  Liney  said  in  a 
whisper :  — 

"  Balser,  I've  been  thinking,  and  I'm  going 
to  tell  you  about  something  I  have.  It's  a 
great  secret.  No  one  knows  of  it  but  mother 
and  father  and  I.  I  believe  it's  the  very 
thing  we  want  for  a  charm.  It  looks  like  it, 
and  it  has  strange  words  engraved  upon  it." 

Balser  was  alive  with  interest. 

"  Do  you  promise  never  to  tell  any  one 
about  it  ? "  asked  Liney. 

"  Yes,  yes,  indeed.  Cross  my  heart,  'pon 
honour,  hope  to  die." 


186    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Balser's  plain,  unadorned  promise  was 
enough  to  bind  him  to  secrecy  under  ordi 
nary  circumstances,  for  he  was  a  truthful 
boy ;  but  when  his  lips  were  sealed  by  such 
oaths  as  "  Cross  my  heart,"  and  "  Hope  to 
die,"  death  had  no  terrors  which  would  have 
forced  him  to  divulge. 

"  What  is  it  ?     Quick,  quick,  Liney  1 " 

"You'll  never  tell?" 

"  No,  cross  my  —  " 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you.  I've  a  thing  at  home 
that's  almost  like  a  cross,  only  the  pieces 
cross  each  other  in  the  middle  and  are  broad 
at  each  end.  It's  a  little  larger  than  a  big 
button.  It's  gold  on  the  back  and  has  a  lot 
of  pieces  of  glass,  each  the  size  of  a  small 
pea,  on  the  front  side.  Only  I  don't  believe 
they're  glass  at  all.  They  are  too  bright  for 
glass.  You  can  see  them  in  the  dark,  where 
there's  no  light  at  all.  They  shine  and  glit 
ter  and  sparkle,  so  that  it  almost  makes  you 
blink  your  eyes.  Now  you  never  saw  glass 
like  that,  did  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Balser,  positively. 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  187 

Liney  continued ;  "  That's  what  makes 
me  think  it's  a  charm ;  for  you  couldn't  see 
it  in  the  dark  unless  it  was  a  charm,  could 
you,  Balser  ? " 

"I  should  think  not." 

"  There's  a  great  big  piece  of  glass,  or 
whatever  it  is,  in  the  centre  of  it  —  as  big  as 
a  large  pea,  and  around  this  big  piece  are 
four  words  in  some  strange  language  that 
nobody  can  make  out, —  at  least,  mother  says 
that  nobody  in  this  country  can  make  them 
out.  Mother  told  me  that  the  charm  was 
given  to  her  for  me  by  a  gypsy  man,  when  I 
was  a  baby.  Mother  says  there's  something 
more  to  tell  me  about  it  when  I  become  a 
woman.  Maybe  that's  the  charm  of  it;  I'm 
sure  it  is."  And  she  looked  up  to  Balser  with 
her  soft,  bright  eyes  full  of  inquiry  and  hope. 

"  I  do  believe  that  thing  is  a  charm,"  said 
Balser.  Then  meditatively :  "  I  know  it's  a 
charm.  Don't  tell  me,  Liney,  that  you  don't 
know  a  lot  of  things." 

Liney's  sad  face  wore  a  dim  smile  of  satis 
faction  at  Balser's  compliments,  and  again 


i88    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

they  both  became  silent.  Balser  remained 
in  a  brown  study  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  asked:  — 

"  Where  does  your  mother  keep  the  — 
the  charm  ? " 

"  She  keeps  it   in  a  box  under  my  bed." 

"  Good  !  good !  "  responded  Balser.  "  Now 
I'll  tell  you  what  to  do  to  make  it  a  sure 
enough  charm." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  eagerly  interrupted  Liney. 

"  You  take  the  charm  and  hold  it  on  your 
lips  while  you  pray  seven  times  that  I  may 
kill  the  bear.  Do  that  seven  times  for  seven 
nights,  and  on  the  last  night  I'll  get  the 
charm,  and  Polly,  Limpey,  and  I  will  go  out 
and  kill  the  bear,  just  as  sure  as  you're  alive." 

The  plan  brought  comfort  to  the  boy  and 
girl. 

Soon  Liney 's  eyes  became  heavy,  and  she 
fell  asleep;  and  as  Balser  looked  upon  her 
innocent  beauty,  he  felt  in  his  heart  that  if 
seven  times  seven  prayers  from  Liney's  lips 
could  not  make  a  charm  which  would  give 
him  strength  from  on  high  to  kill  the  bear, 


THE   FIRE   BEAR.  189 

there  was  no  strength  sufficient  for  that  task 
to  be  had  any  place. 

Late  in  the  night  —  nine  o'clock  —  the 
parents  of  the  children  came  home.  The 
sleepers  were  aroused,  and  all  of  them  tried 
to  tell  the  story  of  the  Fire  Bear  at  one  and 
the  same  time. 

"  Tell  me  about  it,  Balser,"  said  Mr.  Fox, 
seriously;  for  he,  too,  was  beginning  to 
believe  in  the  story  of  the  Fire  Bear.  Then 
Balser  told  the  story,  assisted  by  Polly,  and 
the  strange  event  was  discussed  until  late 
into  the  night,  without,  however,  the  slight 
est  reference  to  the  charm  by  either  Balser 
or  Liney.  That  was  to  remain  their  secret. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  remained  with  the 
Brents  all  night,  and  before  they  left  next 
morning,  Liney  whispered  to  Balser:  — 

"  I'll  begin  to-night,  as  you  told  me  to  do, 
with  the  charm.  Seven  nights  from  this  the 
charm  will  be  ready  —  if  I  can  make  it." 

"  And  so  will  I  be  ready,"  answered  Balser, 
and  both  felt  that  the  fate  of  the  Fire  Bear 
was  sealed. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  BLACK  GULLY. 

NOTE.  —  The  author,  fearing  that  the  account  of  fire  spring 
ing  from  the  earth,  given  in  the  following  story,  may  be 
considered  by  the  reader  too  improbable  for  any  book  but  one 
of  Arabian  fables,  wishes  to  say  that  the  fire  and  the  explo 
sion  occurred  in  the  place  and  manner  described. 

THE  Fire  Bear  had  never  before  been  seen 
in  the  Blue  River  neighbourhood.  His  for 
mer  appearances  had  been  at  or  near  the 
mouth  of  Conn's  Creek,  where  that  stream 
flows  into  Flatrock,  five  or  six  miles  south 
east  of  Balser's  home. 

Flatrock  River  takes  its  name  from  the 
fact  that  it  flows  over  layers  of  broad  flat 
rocks.  The  soil  in  its  vicinity  is  underlaid 
at  a  depth  of  a  few  feet  by  a  formation  of 
stratified  limestone,  which  crops  out  on  the 
hillsides  and  precipices,  and  in  many  places 
forms  deep,  canon-like  crevasses,  through 

which  the  river  flows.     In  these  cliffs  and 

190 


THE   BLACK   GULLY.  191 

miniature  canons  are  many  caves,  and 
branching  off  from  the  river's  course  are 
many  small  side-canons,  or  gullies,  which 
at  night  are  black  and  repellent,  and  in 
many  instances  are  quite  difficult  to  explore. 

One  of  these  side-canons  was  so  dark  and 
forbidding  that  it  was  called  by  the  settlers 
"  The  Black  Gully."  The  conformation  of 
the  rocks  composing  its  precipitous  sides 
was  grotesque  in  the  extreme;  and  the 
overhanging  trees,  thickly  covered  with 
vines,  cast  so  deep  a  shadow  upon  the  ra 
vine  that  even  at  midday  its  dark  recesses 
bore  a  cast  of  gloom  like  that  of  night  un 
timely  fallen.  How  Balser  happened  to 
visit  the  Black  Gully,  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  saw  it — sufficiently  terrible 
and  awe-inspiring  to  cause  the  bravest  man 
to  tremble  —  I  shall  soon  tell  you. 

The  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Flatrock 
was  full  of  hiding-places,  and  that  was  sup 
posed  to  be  the  home  of  the  Fire  Bear. 

The  morning  after  Polly  and  Balser  had 
seen  the  Fire  Bear,  they  went  forth  bright 


192    THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE  RIVER. 

and  early  to  follow  the  tracks  of  their  fiery 
enemy,  and  if  possible  to  learn  where  he  had 
gone  after  his  unwelcome  visit. 

They  took  up  the  spoor  at  the  point  where 
the  bear  had  crossed  the  river  the  night  be 
fore,  and  easily  followed  his  path  three  or 
four  miles  down  the  stream.  There  they 
found  the  place  where  he  had  crossed  the 
river  to  the  east  bank.  The  tracks,  which 
were  plainly  visible  in  the  new-fallen  snow, 
there  turned  southeast  toward  his  reputed 
home  among  the  caves  and  gullies  of  Flat- 
rock  and  Conn's  Creek. 

The  trackers  hurried  forward  so  eagerly  in 
their  pursuit  that  they  felt  no  fatigue.  They 
found  several  deer,  and  at  one  time  they 
saw  at  a  great  distance  a  bear;  but  they 
did  not  pursue  either,  for  their  minds  were 
too  full  of  the  hope  that  they  might  discover 
the  haunts  of  the  monster  upon  whose  death 
depended,  as  they  believed,  their  lives  and 
that  of  Liney  Fox.  When  Balser  and  Polly 
reached  the  stony  ground  of  Flatrock  the 
bear  tracks  began  to  grow  indistinct,  and 


THE   BLACK  GULLY.  193 

soon  they  were  lost  entirely  among  the 
smooth  rocks  from  which  the  snow  had  been 
blown  away.  The  boys  had,  however,  ac 
complished  their  purpose,  for  they  were  con 
vinced  that  they  had  discovered  the  haunts 
of  the  bear.  They  carefully  noticed  the 
surrounding  country,  and  spoke  to  each 
other  of  the  peculiar  cliffs  and  trees  in  the 
neighbourhood,  so  that  they  might  remember 
the  place  when  they  should  return.  Then 
they  found  a  dry  little  cave  wherein  they 
kindled  a  fire  and  roasted  a  piece  of  venison 
which  they  had  taken  with  them.  When 
their  roast  was  cooked,  they  ate  their  dinner 
of  cold  hoe-cake  and  venison,  and  then  sat  by 
the  fire  for  an  hour  to  warm  and  rest  before 
beginning  their  long,  hard  journey  home 
through  the  snow.  Polly  smoked  his  after- 
dinner  pipe,  —  the  pipe  was  a  hollow  corn-cob 
with  the  tip  of  a  buck's  horn  for  a  stem, — 
and  the  two  bear  hunters  talked  over  the 
events  of  the  day  and  discussed  the  coming 
campaign  against  the  Fire  Bear. 

"  I  s'pose  we'll  have  to  hunt  him  by  night," 


194    THE  BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

said  Polly.  "  He's  never  seen  at  any  other 
time,  they  say." 

"  Yes,  we'll  have  to  hunt  him  by  night," 
said  Balser ;  "  but  darkness  will  help  us  in  the 
hunt,  for  we  can  see  him  better  at  night 
than  at  any  other  time,  and  he  can't  see  us 
as  well  as  he  could  in  daylight." 

"  Balser,  you  surprise  me,"  answered  Polly. 
"  Have  you  hunted  bears  all  this  time  and 
don't  know  that  a  bear  can  see  as  well  after 
night  as  in  the  daytime  —  better,  maybe  ?  " 

"  Maybe  that's  so,"  responded  Balser.  "  I 
know  that  cats  and  owls  can  see  better  by 
night,  but  I  didn't  know  about  bears.  How 
do  you  know  it's  true  ?  " 

"How  do  I  know?  Why,  didn't  that 
there  bear  make  a  bee-line  for  this  place  last 
night,  and  wasn't  last  night  as  dark  as  the 
inside  of  a  whale,  and  don't  they  go  about  at 
night  more  than  in  the  daytime  ?  Tell  me 
that.  When  do  they  steal  sheep  and  shoats  ? 
In  daytime  ?  Tell  me  that.  Ain't  it  always 
at  night  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  bear  steal 
ing  a  shoat  in  the  daytime  ?  No,  sirree ;  but 


THE   BLACK  GULLY.  195 

they  can  see  the  littlest  shoat  that  ever 
grunted,  on  the  darkest  night,  —  see  him  and 
snatch  him  out  of  the  pen  and  get  away  with 
him  quicker  than  you  or  I  could,  a  durned 
sight." 

"  I  never  tried ;  did  you,  Polly  ? "  asked 
Balser. 

Polly  wasn't  above  suspicion  among  those 
who  knew  him,  and  Balser's  question  slightly 
disconcerted  him. 

"Well,  I  — I  — durned  if  that  ain't  the 
worst  fool  question  I  ever  heerd  a  boy  ask," 
answered  Polly.  Then,  somewhat  anxious  to 
change  the  conversation,  he  continued :  — 

"  What  night  do  you  propose  to  come 
down  here  ?  To-morrow  night  ? " 

"  No,  not  for  a  week.  Not  till  seven 
nights  after  to-night,"  answered  Balser,  mind 
ful  of  the  charm  which  he  hoped  Liney's 
prayers  would  make  for  him. 

"Seven  nights?  Geminy!  I'm  afraid  I'll 
get  scared  of  this  place  by  that  time.  I'll 
bet  this  is  an  awful  place  at  night ;  nothing 
but  great  chunks  of  blackness  in  these  here 


196    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

gullies,  so  thick  you  could  cut  it  with  a  knife. 
I'm  not  afraid  now  because  I'm  desperate. 
I'm  so  afraid  of  dyin'  because  I  saw  the  Fire 
Bear  that  I  don't  seem  to  be  afraid  of  nothin' 
else." 

Polly  was  right.  There  is  nothing  like  a 
counter-fear  to  keep  a  coward's  courage  up. 

After  they  were  warm  and  had  rested, 
Balser  and  Polly  went  out  of  the  cave  and 
took  another  survey  of  the  surrounding 
country  from  the  top  of  the  hill.  They 
started  homeward,  and  reached  the  cozy 
cabin  on  Blue  River  soon  after  sunset, 
tired,  hungry,  and  cold.  A  good  warm 
supper  soon  revived  them,  and  as  it  had 
been  agreed  that  Polly  should  remain  at 
Mr.  Brent's  until  after  the  Fire  Bear  hunt, 
they  went  to  bed  in  the  loft  and  slept 
soundly  till  morning. 

After  Balser  announced  his  determination 
to  hunt  the  Fire  Bear,  many  persons  asked 
him  when  he  intended  to  undertake  the 
perilous  task,  but  the  invariable  answer  he 
gave  was,  that  he  would  begin  after  the 


THE  BLACK  GULLY.  197 

seventh  night  from  the  one  upon  which  the 
Fire  Bear  had  visited  Blue  River.  "Why 
after  the  seventh  night  ? "  was  frequently 
asked;  but  the  boy  would  give  no  other 
answer. 

Balser  had  invited  Tom  Fox  to  go  with 
him;  and  Tom,  in  addition  to  his  redoubt 
able  hatchet,  intended  to  carry  his  father's 
gun.  Polly  would  take  Mr.  Brent's  rifle, 
and  of  course  Balser  would  carry  the 
greatest  of  all  armaments,  his  smooth-bore 
carbine.  Great  were  the  preparations  made 
in  selecting  bullets  and  in  drying  powder. 
Knives  and  hatchets  were  sharpened  un 
til  they  were  almost  as  keen  as  a  razor. 
Many  of  the  men  and  boys  of  the  neighbour 
hood  volunteered  to  accompany  Balser,  but 
he  would  take  with  him  no  one  but  Tom 
and  Polly. 

"  Too  many  hunters  spoil  the  chase," 
said  Balser,  borrowing  his  thought  from 
the  cooks  and  the  broth  maxim. 

Upon  the  morning  of  the  eighth  day 
Balser  went  over  to  see  Liney,  and  to 


198    THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

receive  from  her  the  precious  charm  redo 
lent  with  forty-nine  prayers  from  her  pure 
heart.  When  she  gave  it  to  him  he 
said :  — 

"  It's  a  charm ;  I  know  it  is."  And  he 
held  it  in  his  hand  and  looked  at  it  affection 
ately.  "  It  looks  like  a  charm,  and  it  feels 
like  a  charm.  Liney,  I  seem  to  feel  your 
prayers  upon  it." 

"  Ah !  Balser,  don't  say  that.  It  sounds 
almost  wicked.  It  has  seemed  wicked  all 
the  time  for  me  to  try  to  make  a  charm." 

"  Don't  feel  that  way,  Liney.  You  didn't 
try  to  make  it.  You  only  prayed  to  God  to 
make  it,  and  God  is  good  and  loves  to  hear 
you  pray.  If  He  don't  love  to  hear  you 
pray,  Liney,  He  don't  love  to  hear  any  one." 

"  No,  no,  Balser,  I'm  so  wicked.  The 
night  we  saw  the  Fire  Bear  father  read  in 
the  Bible  where  it  says,  'The  prayers  of 
the  wicked  availeth  not.'  Oh,  Balser,  do 
you  think  it's  wicked  to  try  to  make  a  charm 
—  that  is,  to  pray  to  God  to  make  one  ? " 

"  No,  indeed,  Liney.      God   makes   them 


THE   BLACK  GULLY.  199 

of  His  own  accord.  He  made  you."  But 
Liney  only  half  understood. 

The  charm  worked  at  least  one  spell.  It 
made  the  boy  braver  and  gave  him  self- 
confidence. 

Balser,  Tom,  and  Polly  had  determined 
to  ride  down  to  Flatrock  on  horseback, 
and  for  that  purpose  one  of  Mr.  Fox's 
horses  and  two  of  Mr.  Brent's  were  brought 
into  service.  At  three  o'clock  upon  the 
famous  eighth  day  the  three  hunters  started 
for  Flatrock,  and  spent  the  night  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  Conn's  Creek ;  but 
they  did  not  see  the  Fire  Bear.  Four  other 
expeditions  were  made,  for  Balser  had  no 
notion  of  giving  up  the  hunt,  and  each 
expedition  was  a  failure.  But  the  fifth  — 
well,  I  will  tell  you  about  it. 

Upon  the  fifth  expedition  the  boys  reached 
Flatrock  River  just  after  sunset.  A  cold 
drizzling  rain  had  begun  to  fall,  and  as  it  fell 
it  froze  upon  the  surface  of  the  rocks.  The 
wind  blew  and  moaned  through  the  tree-tops, 
and  the  darkness  was  so  dense  it  seemed 


200    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

heavy.  The  boys  had  tied  their  horses  in  a 
cave,  which  they  had  used  for  the  same  pur 
pose  upon  former  visits,  and  were  discussing 
the  advisability  of  giving  up  the  hunt  for 
that  night  and  returning  home.  Tom  had 
suggested  that  the  rain  might  extinguish  the 
Fire  Bear's  fire  so  he  could  not  be  seen. 
The  theory  seemed  plausible.  Polly  thought 
that  a  bear  with  any  sense  at  all  would 
remain  at  home  in  his  cave  upon  such  a 
night  as  that,  and  all  these  arguments, 
together  with  the  slippery  condition  of  the 
earth,  which  made  walking  among  the  rocks 
and  cliffs  very  dangerous,  induced  Balser  to 
conclude  that  it  was  best  to  return  to  Blue 
River  without  pursuing  the  hunt  that  night. 
He  announced  his  decision,  and  had  given 
up  all  hope  of  seeing  the  Fire  Bear  upon  that 
expedition.  But  they  were  not  to  be  disap 
pointed  after  all,  for,  just  as  the  boys  were 
untying  their  horses  to  return  home,  a  ter 
rific  growl  greeted  their  ears,  coming,  it 
seemed,  right  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave  in 
which  they  stood. 


THE   BLACK   GULLY.  201 

"  That's  him,"  cried  Polly.  "  I  know  his 
voice.  I  heerd  it  for  one  mortal  hour  that 
night  when  he  was  a  chasin'  me,  and  I'll 
never  furgit  it.  I'd  know  it  among  a  thou 
sand  bears.  It's  him.  Oh,  Balser,  let's  go 
home !  For  the  Lord's  sake,  Balser,  let's  go 
home !  I'd  rather  die  three  months  from  now 
than  now.  Three  months  is  a  long  time  to 
live,  after  all." 

"  Polly,  what  on  earth  are  you  talking 
about?  Are  you  crazy?  Tie  up  your 
horse  at  once,"  said  Balser.  "  If  the  bear 
gets  away  from  us  this  time,  we'll  never 
have  another  chance  at  him.  Quick! 
Quick!" 

Polly's  courage  was  soon  restored,  and 
the  horses  were  quickly  tied  again. 

Upon  entering  the  cave  a  torch  had  been 
lighted,  and  by  the  light  of  the  torch,  which 
Polly  held,  the  primings  of  the  guns  were 
examined,  knives  and  hatchets  were  made 
ready  for  immediate  use,  and  out  the  hunters 
sallied  in  pursuit  of  the  Fire  Bear. 

On   account  of  the  ice   upon   the   rocks 


202    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

it  was  determined  that  Polly  should  carry 
the  torch  with  him.  Aside  from  the  dan 
gers  of  the  slippery  path,  there  was  another 
reason  for  carrying  the  torch.  Fire  attracts 
the  attention  of  wild  animals,  and  often  pre 
vents  them  from  running  away  from  the 
hunter.  This  is  especially  true  of  deer. 
So  Polly  carried  the  torch,  and  a  fatal 
burden  it  proved  to  be  for  him.  After  the 
hunters  had  emerged  from  the  cave,  they 
at  once  started  toward  the  river,  and  upon 
passing  a  little  spur  of  the  hill  they  beheld 
at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  yards 
the  Fire  Bear,  glowing  like  a  fiery  heap 
against  the  black  bank  of  night.  He  was 
running  rapidly  up  the  stream  toward  Black 
Gully,  which  came  down  to  the  river's  edge 
between  high  cliffs.  This  was  the  place  I 
described  to  you  a  few  pages  back.  Balser 
and  Polly  had  seen  Black  Gully  before,  and 
had  noticed  how  dark,  deep,  and  forbid 
ding  it  was.  It  had  seemed  to  them  to  be 
a  fitting  place  for  the  revels  of  witches, 
demons,  snakes,  and  monsters  of  all  sorts, 


THE  BLACK  GULLY.  203 

and  they  thought  surely  it  was  haunted,  if 
any  place  ever  was.  They  feared  the  spot 
even  in  the  daytime. 

Polly,  who  was  ingenious  with  a  pocket- 
knife,  had  carved  out  three  whistles,  and 
in  the  bowl  of  each  was  a  pea.  These 
whistles  produced  a  shrill  noise  when  blown 
upon,  which  could  be  heard  at  a  great 
distance,  and  each  hunter  carried  one  fast 
ened  to  a  string  about  his  neck.  In  case 
the  boys  should  be  separated,  one  long 
whistle  was  to  be  sounded  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  them  together;  three  whistles 
should  mean  that  the  bear  had  been  seen, 
and  one  short  one  was  to  be  the  cry  for 
help.  When  Balser  saw  the  bear  he  blew 
a  shrill  blast  upon  his  whistle  to  attract 
the  brute's  attention.  The  ruse  produced 
the  desired  effect,  for  the  bear  stopped.  His 
curiosity  evidently  was  aroused  by  the  noise 
and  by  the  sight  of  the  fire,  and  he  remained 
standing  for  a  moment  or  two  while  the 
boys  ran  forward  as  rapidly  as  the  slippery 
rocks  would  permit.  Soon  they  were  within 


204     THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

a  hundred  yards  of  the  bear;  then  fifty, 
forty,  thirty,  twenty.  Still  the  Fire  Bear 
did  not  move.  His  glowing  form  stood 
before  them  like  a  pillar  of  fire,  the  only 
object  that  could  be  seen  in  the  darkness 
that  surrounded  him.  He  seemed  to  be 
the  incarnation  of  all  that  was  brave  and 
demoniac.  When  within  twenty  yards  of 
the  bear  Balser  said  hurriedly  to  his  com 
panions  :  — 

"  Halt !  I'll  shoot  first,  and  you  fellows 
hold  your  fire  and  shoot  one  at  a  time,  after 
me.  Don't  shoot  till  I  tell  you,  and  take 
good  aim.  Polly,  I'll  hold  your  torch  when 
I  want  you  to  shoot."  Polly  held  the  torch 
in  one  hand  and  his  gun  in  the  other,  and 
fear  was  working  great  havoc  with  his  use 
fulness.  Balser  continued :  "  It's  so  dark  we 
can't  see  the  sights  of  our  guns,  and  if  we're 
not  careful  we  may  all  miss  the  bear,  or  still 
worse,  we  may  only  wound  him.  Hold  up 
the  torch,  Polly,  so  I  can  see  the  sights  of 
my  gun." 

Balser's  voice  seemed  to  attract  the  bear's 


THE   BLACK   GULLY.  205 

attention  more  even  than  did  the  torch,  and 
he  pricked  up  his  short  fiery  ears  as  if  to 
ask,  "  What  are  you  talking  about  ?  "  When 
Balser  spoke  next  it  was  with  a  tongue  of 
fire,  and  the  words  came  from  his  gun.  The 
bear  seemed  to  understand  the  gun's  lan 
guage  better  than  that  of  Balser,  for  he  gave 
forth  in  answer  a  terrific  growl  of  rage,  and 
bit  savagely  at  the  wound  which  Balser  had 
inflicted.  Alas  !  It  was  only  a  wound ;  for 
Balser's  bullet,  instead  of  piercing  the  bear's 
heart,  had  hit  him  upon  the  hind  quarters. 

"  I've  only  wounded  him,"  cried  Balser, 
and  the  note  of  terror  in  his  voice  seemed  to 
create  a  panic  in  the  breasts  of  Tom  and 
Polly,  who  at  once  raised  their  guns  and 
fired.  Of  course  they  both  missed  the  bear, 
and  before  they  could  lower  their  guns  the 
monster  was  upon  them. 

Balser  was  in  front,  and  received  the  full 
force  of  the  brute's  ferocious  charge.  The 
'boy  went  down  under  the  bear's  mighty 
rush,  and  before  he  had  time  to  draw  his 
knife,  or  to  disengage  his  hatchet  from  his 


206    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

belt,  the  infuriated  animal  was  standing  over 
him.  As  Balser  fell  his  hand  caught  a 
rough  piece  of  soft  wood  which  was  lying 
upon  the  ground,  and  with  this  he  tried  to 
beat  the  bear  upon  the  head.  The  bear,  of 
course,  hardly  felt  the  blows  which  Balser 
dealt  with  the  piece  of  wood,  and  it  seemed 
that  another  terrible  proof  was  about  to  be 
given  of  the  fatal  consequences  of  looking 
upon  the  Fire  Bear.  Tom  and  Polly  had 
both  run  when  the  bear  charged,  but  Tom 
quickly  came  to  Balser's  relief,  while  Polly 
remained  at  a  safe  distance.  The  bear  was 
reaching  for  Balser's  throat,  but  by  some 
fortunate  chance  he  caught  between  his  jaws 
the  piece  of  wood  with  which  Balser  had 
been  vainly  striking  him ;  and  doubtless 
thinking  that  the  wood  was  a  part  of  Balser, 
the  bear  bit  it  and  shook  it  ferociously. 
When  Tom  came  up  to  the  scene  of  conflict 
he  struck  the  bear  upon  the  head  with  the 
sharp  edge  of  his  hatchet,  and  chopped  out 
one  of  his  eyes.  The  pain  of  the  wound 
seemed  to  double  the  bear's  fury,  and  he 


THE   BLACK  GULLY.  207 

sprang  over  Balser's  prostrate  form  toward 
Tom.  The  bear  rose  upon  his  haunches  and 
faced  Tom,  who  manfully  struck  at  him  with 
his  hatchet,  and  never  thought  of  running. 
Ah !  Tom  was  a  brave  one  when  the  neces 
sity  for  bravery  arose.  But  Tom's  courage 
was  better  than  his  judgment,  for  in  a 
moment  he  was  felled  to  the  ground  by  a 
stroke  from  the  bear's  paw,  and  the  bear 
was  standing  over  him,  growling  and  bleed 
ing  terribly.  Polly  had  come  nearer  and  his 
torch  threw  a  ghastly  glamour  over  the  ter 
rible  scene.  As  in  the  fight  with  Balser,  the 
bear  tried  to  catch  Tom's  throat  between  his 
jaws ;  but  here  the  soft  piece  of  wood  which 
Balser  had  grasped  when  he  fell  proved  a 
friend  indeed,  for  the  bear  had  bitten  it  so 
savagely  that  his  teeth  had  been  embedded 
in  its  soft  fibre,  and  it  acted  as  a  gag  in  his 
mouth.  He  could  neither  open  nor  close 
his  jaws.  After  a  few  frantic  efforts  to  bite 
Tom,  the  bear  seemed  to  discover  where  the 
trouble  was,  and  tried  to  push  the  wood  out 
of  his  mouth  with  his  paws.  This  gave  Tom 


208     THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

a  longed-for  opportunity,  of  which  he  was 
not  slow  to  take  advantage,  and  he  quickly 
drew  himself  from  under  the  bear,  rose  to 
his  feet,  and  ran  away.  In  the  meantime 
Balser  rose  from  the  ground  and  reached  the 
bear  just  as  Tom  started  to  run.  Balser 
knew  by  that  time  that  he  had  no  chance  of 
success  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the 
brute.  So  he  struck  the  bear  a  blow  upon 
the  head  with  his  hatchet  as  he  passed, 
and  followed  Tom  at  a  very  rapid  speed. 
Balser  at  once  determined  that  he  and  Tom 
and  Polly  should  reach  a  place  of  safety, 
quickly  load  their  guns,  and  return  to  the 
attack.  In  a  moment  he  looked  back,  and 
saw  the  bear  still  struggling  to  free  his 
mouth  from  the  piece  of  wood  which  had 
saved  two  lives  that  night.  As  the  bear  was 
not  pursuing  them,  Balser  concluded  to  halt ; 
and  he  and  Tom  loaded  their  guns,  while 
Polly  held  the  torch  on  high  to  furnish  light. 
Polly's  feeble  wits  had  almost  fled,  and  he 
seemed  unconscious  of  what  was  going  on 
about  him.  He  did  mechanically  whatever 


THE  BLACK  GULLY.  209 

Balser  told  him  to  do,  but  his  eyes  had  a  far 
away  look,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  events 
of  the  night  had  paralyzed  his  poor,  weak 
brain.  When  the  guns  were  loaded  Balser 
and  Tom  hurried  forward  toward  the  bear, 
and  poor  Polly  followed,  bearing  his  torch. 
Bang !  went  Balser's  gun,  and  the  bear  rose 
upon  his  hind  feet,  making  the  cliffs  and 
ravines  echo  with  his  terrible  growls. 

"  Take  good  aim,  Tom ;  hold  up  the  torch, 
Polly,"  said  Balser.  "Fire!"  and  the  bear 
fell  over  on  his  back  and  seemed  to  be  dead. 
Polly  and  Tom  started  toward  the  bear,  but 
Balser  cried  out :  "  Stop !  He  may  not  be 
dead  yet.  We'll  give  him  another  volley. 
We've  got  him  now,  sure,  if  we're  careful." 
Tom  and  Polly  stopped,  and  it  was  fortunate 
for  them  that  they  did  so ;  for  in  an  instant 
the  bear  was  on  his  feet,  apparently  none 
the  worse  for  the  ill-usage  the  boys  had  given 
him.  The  Fire  Bear  stood  for  a  little  time 
undetermined  whether  to  attack  the  boys 
again  or  to  run.  After  halting  for  a  mo 
ment  between  two  opinions,  he  concluded  to 


210    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

retreat,  and  with  the  piece  of  wood  still  in 
his  mouth,  he  started  at  a  rapid  gait  toward 
Black  Gully,  a  hundred  yards  away. 

"  Load,  Tom ;  load  quick.  Hold  the  torch, 
Polly,"  cried  Balser.  And  again  the  guns 
were  loaded,  while  poor  demented  Polly  held 
the  torch. 

The  bear  moved  away  rapidly,  and  in  a 
moment  the  boys  were  following  him  with 
loaded  guns.  When  the  brute  reached  the 
mouth  of  Black  Gully  he  entered  it.  Evi 
dently  his  home  was  in  that  uncanny  place. 

"  Quick,  quick,  Polly ! "  cried  Balser ;  and 
within  a  moment  after  the  bear  had  entered 
Black  Gully  his  pursuers  were  at  the  mouth 
of  the  ravine,  making  ready  for  another 
attack.  Balser  gave  a  shrill  blast  upon  his 
whistle,  and  the  bear  turned  for  a  moment, 
and  deliberately  sat  down  upon  his  haunches 
not  fifty  yards  away.  The  place  looked  so 
black  and  dismal  that  the  boys  at  first 
feared  to  enter,  but  soon  their  courage  came 
to  their  rescue,  and  they  marched  in,  with 
Polly  in  the  lead.  The  bear  moved  farther 


THE   BLACK   GULLY.  211 

up  the  gully  toward  an  overhanging  cliff, 
whose  dark,  rugged  outlines  were  faintly 
illumined  by  the  light  of  Polly's  torch.  The 
jutting  rocks  seemed  like  monster  faces,  and 
the  bare  roots  of  the  trees  were  like  the 
horny  ringers  and  the  bony  arms  of  fiends. 
The  boys  followed  the  bear,  and  when  he 
came  to  a  halt  near  the  cliff  and  again  sat 
upon  his  haunches,  it  was  evident  that  the 
Fire  Bear's  end  was  near  at  hand.  How 
frightful  it  all  appeared !  There  sat  the 
Fire  Bear,  like  a  burning  demon,  sullen 
and  motionless,  giving  forth,  every  few  sec 
onds,  deep  guttural  growls  that  reverberated 
through  the  dark  cavernous  place.  Not  a 
star  was  seen,  nor  a  gleam  of  light  did  the 
overcast  sky  afford.  There  stood  poor,  pite 
ous  Polly,  all  his  senses  fled  and  gone,  un 
consciously  holding  his  torch  above  his  head. 
The  light  of  the  torch  seemed  to  give  life 
to  the  shadows  of  the  place,  and  a  sense  of 
fear  stole  over  Balser  that  he  could  not  resist. 

\      "  Let's  shoot  him  again,  and  get  out  of 

/this  awful  place,"  said  Balser 


212    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

"  You  bet  I'm  willing  to  get  out,"  said 
Tom,  his  teeth  chattering,  notwithstanding 
his  wonted  courage. 

"  Hold  the  torch,  Polly,"  cried  Balser,  and 
Polly  raised  the  torch.  The  boys  were 
within  fifteen  yards  of  the  bear,  and  each 
took  deliberate  aim  and  fired.  The  bear 
moaned  and  fell  forward.  Then  Balser 
and  Tom  started  rapidly  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  gully.  When  they  had  almost  reached 
the  opening  they  looked  back  for  Polly,  who 
they  thought  was  following  them,  but  there 
he  stood  where  they  had  left  him,  a  hundred 
yards  behind  them. 

Balser  called,  "  Polly !  Polly ! "  but  Polly 
did  not  move.  Then  Tom  blew  his  whistle, 
and  Polly  started,  not  toward  them,  alas! 
but  toward  the  bear. 

"  Don't  go  to  him,  Polly,"  cried  Balser. 
"  He  may  not  be  dead.  We've  had  enough 
of  him  to-night,  for  goodness'  sake !  We'll 
come  back  to-morrow  and  find  him  dead." 
But  Polly  continued  walking  slowly  toward 
the  bear. 


Polly  continued  slowly  toward  the  bear." 


THE  BLACK  GULLY.  213 

"  Polly !  Polly !  Come  back !  "  cried  both 
the  boys.  But  Polly  by  that  time  was  within 
ten  feet  of  the  bear,  holding  his  torch  and 
moving  with  the  step  of  one  unconscious 
of  what  he  was  doing.  A  few  steps  more 
and  Polly  was  by  the  side  of  the  terrible 
Fire  Bear.  The  bear  revived  for  a  moment, 
and  seemed  conscious  that  an  enemy  was 
near  him.  With  a  last  mighty  effort  he  rose 
to  his  feet  and  struck  Polly  a  blow  with  his 
paw  which  felled  him  to  the  ground.  When 
Polly  fell,  the  Fire  Bear  fell  upon  him,  and 
Balser  and  Tom  started  to  rescue  their  un 
fortunate  friend.  Then  it  was  that  a  ter 
rible  thing  happened.  When  Polly's  torch 
dropped  from  his  hand  a  blue  flame  three 
or  four  feet  in  height  sprang  from  the 
ground  just  beyond  the  bear.  The  fire 
ran  upon  the  ground  for  a  short  distance 
like  a  serpent  of  flame,  and  shot  like  a 
flash  of  chain  lightning  half-way  up  the 
side  of  the  cliff.  The  dark,  jutting  rocks 
—  huge  demon  faces  covered  with  ice  — 
glistened  in  the  light  of  the  blaze,  and  the 


214    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

place  seemed  to  have  been  transformed  into 
a  veritable  genii's  cavern.  The  flames  sank 
away  for  a  moment  with  a  low,  moaning 
sound,  and  then  came  up  again  the  colour  of 
roses  and  of  blood.  A  great  rumbling  noise 
was  heard  coming  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  and  a  tongue  of  fire  shot  twenty  feet 
into  the  air.  This  was  more  than  flesh 
and  blood  could  endure,  and  Balser  and 
Tom  ran  for  their  lives,  leaving  their  poor, 
demented  friend  behind  them  to  perish. 
Out  the  boys  went  through  the  mouth  of 
the  gully,  and  across  the  river  they  sped 
upon  the  ice.  They  felt  the  earth  tremble 
beneath  their  feet,  and  they  heard  the 
frightful  rumbling  again ;  then  a  loud  ex 
plosion,  like  the  boom  of  a  hundred  can 
nons,  and  the  country  for  miles  around 
was  lighted  as  if  by  the  mid-day  sun.  Then 
they  looked  back  and  beheld  a  sight  which 
no  man  could  forget  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  They  saw  a  bright  red  flame  a 
hundred  yards  in  diameter  and  two  hundred 
feet  high  leap  from  the  Black  Gully  above 


THE  BLACK  GULLY.  215 

the  top  of  the  cliffs.  After  a  moment  great 
rocks,  and  pieces  of  earth  half  as  large  as 
a  house,  began  to  fall  upon  every  side  of 
them,  as  if  a  mighty  volcano  had  burst 
forth ;  and  the  boys  clung  to  each  other 
in  fear  and  trembling,  and  felt  sure  that 
judgment  day  had  come. 

After  the  rocks  had  ceased  to  fall,  the 
boys,  almost  dead  with  fright,  walked  a 
short  distance  down  the  river  and  crossed 
upon  the  ice.  The  fire  was  still  burning 
in  the  Black  Gully,  and  there  was  no  need 
of  Polly's  torch  to  help  them  see  the 
slippery  path  among  the  rocks. 

The  boys  soon  found  the  cave  in  which 
the  horses  were  stabled.  They  lost  no 
time  in  mounting,  and  quickly  started  home, 
leading  between  them  the  horse  which  had 
been  ridden  by  Polly.  Poor  Polly  was 
never  seen  again.  Even  after  the  fire  in 
the  Black  Gully  had  receded  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth  whence  it  had  come,  nothing 
was  found  of  his  body  nor  that  of  the  Fire 
Bear.  They  had  each  been  burned  to  cinder. 


216    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Many  of  the  Blue  River  people  did  not 
believe  that  the  Fire  Bear  derived  its  fiery 
appearance  from  supernatural  causes.  They 
suggested  that  the  bear  probably  had  made 
its  bed  of  decayed  wood  containing  foxfire, 
and  that  its  fur  was  covered  with  phospho 
rus  which  glowed  like  the  light  of  the  firefly 
after  night.  The  explosion  was  caused  by 
a  "  pocket "  of  natural  gas  which  became 
ignited  when  Polly's  torch  fell  to  the  ground 
by  the  side  of  the  Fire  Bear. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ON  THE   STROKE  OF  NINE. 

LATE  one  afternoon  —  it  was  the  day 
before  Christmas  —  Balser  and  Jim  were 
seated  upon  the  extra  backlog  in  the  fire 
place,  ciphering.  Mrs.  Brent  was  sitting 
in  front  of  the  fire  in  a  rude  home-made 
rocking-chair,  busily  knitting,  while  she 
rocked  the  baby's  cradle  with  her  foot  and 
softly  sang  the  refrain  of  "  Annie  Laurie " 
for  a  lullaby.  Snow  had  begun  to  fall  at 
noon,  and  as  the  sun  sank  westward  the 
north  wind  came  in  fitful  gusts  at  first,  and 
then  in  stronger  blasts,  till  near  the  hour 
of  four,  when  Boreas  burst  forth  in  the 
biting  breath  of  the  storm.  How  he  howled 
and  screamed  down  the  chimney  at  his 
enemy,  the  fire !  And  how  the  fire  crackled 

and  spluttered  and  laughed  in  the  face  of  his 
217 


2i8    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

wrath,  and  burned  all  the  brighter  because 
of  his  raging!  Don't  tell  me  that  a  fire 
can't  talk !  A  fire  upon  a  happy  hearth  is 
the  sweetest  conversationalist  on  earth,  and 
Boreas  might  blow  his  lungs  out  ere  he 
could  stop  the  words  of  cheer  and  health 
and  love  and  happiness  which  the  fire 
spoke  to  Jim  and  Balser  and  their  mother 
in  the  gloaming  of  that  cold  and  stormy 
day. 

"  Put  on  more  wood,"  said  the  mother,  in 
a  whisper,  wishing  not  to  awaken  the  baby. 
"  Your  father  will  soon  be  home  from  Brook- 
ville,  and  we  must  make  the  house  good 
and  warm  for  him.  I  hope  he  will  come 
early.  It  would  be  dreadful  for  him  to 
be  caught  far  away  from  home  in  such  a 
storm  as  we  shall  have  to-night." 

Mr.  Brent  had  gone  to  Brookville  several 
days  before  with  wheat  and  pelts  for  mar 
ket,  and  was  expected  home  that  evening. 
Balser  had  wanted  to  go  with  his  father, 
but  the  manly  little  fellow  had  given  up 
his  wish  and  had  remained  at  home  that 


ON  THE  STROKE  OF   NINE.       219 

he  might  take  care  of  his  mother,  Jim, 
and  the  baby. 

Balser  quietly  placed  a  few  large  hickory 
sticks  upon  the  fire,  and  then  whispered 
to  Jim:  — 

"  Let's  go  out  and  feed  the  stock  and  fix 
them  for  the  night." 

So  the  boys  went  to  the  barnyard  and 
fed  the  horses  and  cows,  and  drove  the 
sheep  into  the  shed,  and  carried  fodder 
from  the  huge  stack  and  placed  it  against 
the  north  sides  of  the  barn  and  shed  to 
keep  the  wind  from  blowing  through  the 
cracks  and  to  exclude  the  snow.  When 
the  stock  was  comfortable,  cozy,  and  warm, 
the  boys  milked  the  cows,  and  brought 
to  the  house  four  bucketfuls  of  steaming 
milk,  which  they  strained  and  left  in  the 
kitchen,  rather  than  in  the  milk-house,  that 
it  might  not  freeze  over  night. 

Darkness  came  on  rapidly,  and  Mrs.  Brent 
grew  more  and  more  anxious  for  her  hus 
band's  return.  Fearing  that  he  might  be 
late,  she  postponed  supper  until  Jim's  ever 


220    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

ready  appetite  began  to  cry  aloud  for  satis 
faction,  and  Balser  intimated  that  he,  too, 
might  be  induced  to  eat.  So  their  mother 
leisurely  went  to  work  to  get  supper,  while 
the  baby  was  left  sleeping  before  the  cheery, 
talkative  fire  in  the  front  room. 

A  fat  wild  turkey  roasted  to  a  delicious 
brown  upon  the  spit,  eggs  fried  in  the 
sweetest  of  lard,  milk  warm  from  the  cows, 
corn-cakes  floating  in  maple  syrup  and  yel 
low  butter,  sweet  potatoes  roasted  in  hot 
ashes,  and  a  great  slice  of  mince  pie  furnished 
a  supper  that  makes  one  hungry  but  to  think 
about  it.  The  boys,  however,  were  hungry 
without  thinking,  and  it  would  have  done 
your  heart  good  to  see  that  supper  dis 
appear. 

As  they  sat  at  supper  they  would  pause 
in  their  eating  and  listen  attentively  to 
every  noise  made  by  the  creaking  of  the 
trees  or  the  falling  of  a  broken  twig,  hoping 
that  it  was  the  step  of  the  father.  But  the 
supper  was  finished  all  too  soon,  and  the 
storm  continued  to  increase  in  its  fury ; 


ON   THE   STROKE   OF   NINE.       221 

the   snow   fell   thicker   and    the   cold   grew 
fiercer,  still  Mr.  Brent  did  not  come. 

Mrs.  Brent  said  nothing,  but  as  the  hours 
flew  by  her  anxious  heart  imparted  its 
trouble  to  Balser,  and  he  began  to  fear 
for  his  father's  safety.  The  little  clock 
upon  the  rude  shelf  above  the  fireplace 
hoarsely  and  slowly  drawled  out  the  hour 
of  seven,  then  eight,  and  then  nine.  That 
was  very  late  for  the  Brent  family  to  be 
out  of  bed,  and  nothing  short  of  the 
anxiety  they  felt  could  have  kept  them 
awake.  Jim,  of  course,  had  long  since 
fallen  asleep,  and  he  lay  upon  a  soft  bear 
skin  in  front  of  the  fire,  wholly  unconscious 
of  storms  or  troubles  of  any  sort.  Mrs. 
Brent  sat  watching  and  waiting  while  Jim 
and  the  baby  slept,,  and  to  her  anxious  heart 
it  seemed  that  the  seconds  lengthened  into 
minutes,  and  the  minutes  into  hours,  by 
reason  of  her  loneliness.  While  she  rocked 
beside  the  baby's  cradle,  Balser  was  sitting 
in  his  favourite  place  upon  the  backlog 
next  to  the  fire.  He  had  been  reading, 


222     THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

or  trying  to  read,  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress," 
but  visions  of  his  father  and  of  the  team 
lost  in  the  trackless  forest,  facing  death  by 
freezing,  to  say  nothing  of  wolves  that 
prowled  the  woods  in  packs  of  hundreds 
upon  such  a  night  as  that,  continually  came 
between  his  eyes  and  the  page,  and  blurred 
the  words  until  they  held  no  meaning. 
Gradually  drowsiness  stole  over  him,  too, 
and  just  as  the  slow-going  clock  began 
deliberately  to  strike  the  hour  of  nine  his 
head  fell  back  into  a  little  corner  made  by 
projecting  logs  in  the  wall  of  the  fireplace, 
and,  like  Jim,  he  forgot  his  troubles  as  he 
slept. 

Balser  did  not  know  how  long  he  had 
been  sleeping  when  the  neighing  of  a  horse 
was  heard.  Mrs.  Brent  hastened  to  the  door, 
but  when  she  opened  it,  instead  of  her  hus 
band  she  found  one  of  the  horses,  an  intelli 
gent,  raw-boned  animal  named  Buck,  stand 
ing  near  the  house.  Balser  had  heard  her 
call,  and  he  quickly  ran  out  of  doors  and 
went  to  the  horse.  The  harness  was  broken, 


ON   THE   STROKE   OF   NINE.       223 

and  dragging  upon  the  ground  behind  the 
horse  were  small  portions  of  the  wreck  of  the 
wagon.  Poor  Buck's  flank  was  red  with 
blood,  and  his  legs  showed  all  too  plainly  the 
marks  of  deadly  conflict  with  a  savage,  hun 
gry  foe.  The  wreck  of  the  wagon,  the 
broken  harness,  and  the  wounds  upon  the 


horse  told  eloquently,  as  if  spoken  in  words, 
the  story  of  the  night.  Wolves  had  attacked 
Balser's  father,  and  Buck  had  come  home  to 
give  the  alarm. 

Balser  ran  quickly  to  the  fire  pile  upon  the 
hill  and  kindled  it  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
help  from  the  neighbours.  Then  he  went 
back  to  the  house  and  took  down  his  gun. 


224    THE   BEAKS'  OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

He  tied  a  bundle  of  torches  over  his  shoul 
der,  lighted  one,  and  started  out  in  the 
blinding,  freezing  storm  to  help  his  father, 
if  possible. 

He  followed  the  tracks  of  the  horse,  which 
with  the  aid  of  his  torch  were  easily  discern 
ible  in  the  deep  snow,  and  soon  he  was  far 
into  the  forest,  intent  upon  his  mission  of 
rescue. 

After  the  boy  had  travelled  for  an  hour  he 
heard  the  howling  of  wolves,  and  hastened  in 
the  direction  whence  the  sound  came,  feeling 
in  his  heart  that  he  would  find  his  father 
surrounded  by  a  ferocious  pack.  He  hurried 
forward  as  rapidly  as  he  could  run,  and  his 
worst  fears  were  realized. 

Soon  he  reached  the  top  of  a  hill  over 
looking  a  narrow  ravine  which  lay  to  the 
eastward.  The  moon  had  risen  and  the 
snow  had  ceased  to  fall.  The  wind  was 
blowing  a  fiercer  gale  than  ever,  and  had 
broken  rifts  in  the  black  bank  of  snowcloud, 
so  that  gleams  of  the  moon  now  and  then 
enabled  Balser's  vision  to  penetrate  the  dark- 


ON   THE   STROKE   OF   NINE.       225 

ness.  Upon  looking  down  into  the  ravine 
he  beheld  his  father  standing  in  the  wagon, 
holding  in  his  hand  a  singletree  which  he 
used  as  a  weapon  of  defence.  The  wolves 


jumped  upon  the  wagon  in  twos  and  threes, 
and  when  beaten  off  by  Mr.  Brent  would 
crowd  around  the  wheels  and  howl  to  get 
their  courage  up,  and  renew  the  attack. 

Mr.  Brent  saw  the  boy  starting  down  the 
hill  toward  the  wagon  and  motioned  to  him 
to  go  back.  Balser  quickly  perceived  that 
it  would  be  worse  than  madness  to  go  to  his 


226    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

father.  The  wolves  would  at  once  turn  their 
attack  upon  him,  and  his  father  would  be 
compelled  to  abandon  his  advantageous  posi 
tion  in  the  wagon  and  go  to  his  relief,  in 
which  case  both  father  and  son  would  be 
lost.  Should  Balser  fire  into  the  pack  of 
wolves  from  where  he  stood,  he  would  bring 
upon  himself  and  his  father  the  same  disas 
ter.  He  felt  his  helplessness  grievously,  but 
his  quick  wit  came  to  his  assistance.  He 
looked  about  him  for  a  tree  which  he  could 
climb,  and  soon  found  one.  At  first  he  hesi 
tated  to  make  use  of  the  tree,  for  it  was  dead 
and  apparently  rotten ;  but  there  was  none 
other  at  hand,  so  he  hastily  climbed  up  and 
seated  himself  firmly  upon  a  limb  which 
seemed  strong  enough  to  sustain  his  weight 
Balser  was  now  safe  from  the  wolves,  and 
at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  twenty  yards 
from  his  father.  There  he  waited  until  the 
clouds  for  a  moment  permitted  the  full  light 
of  the  moon  to  rest  upon  the  scene,  and  then 
he  took  deliberate  aim  and  fired  into  the 
pack  of  howling  wolves.  A  sharp  yelp  an- 


ON   THE   STROKE   OF   NINE.       227 

swered  his  shot,  and  then  a  black,  seething 
mass  of  growling,  fighting,  snapping  beasts 
fell  upon  the  carcass  of  the  wolf  that  Balser's 
shot  had  killed,  and  almost  instantly  they 
devoured  their  unfortunate  companion. 

Balser  felt  that  if  he  could  kill  enough 
wolves  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  the  living 
ones  they  would  abandon  their  attack  upon 
his  father,  for  wolves,  like  cowardly  men,  are 
brave  only  in  desperation.  They  will  attack 
neither  man  nor  animal  except  when  driven 
to  do  so  by  hunger. 

After  Balser  had  killed  the  wolf,  clouds 
obscured  the  moon  before  he  could  make 
another  shot.  He  feared  to  fire  in  the  dark 
lest  he  might  kill  his  father,  so  he  waited 
impatiently  for  the  light  which  did  not  come. 

Meanwhile,  the  dead  wolf  having  been 
devoured,  the  pack  again  turned  upon  Mr. 
Brent,  and  Balser  could  hear  his  father's 
voice  and  the  clanking  of  the  iron  upon  the 
singletree  as  he  struck  at  the  wolves  to  ward 
them  off. 

It  seemed   to  Balser  that   the  moon  had 


228    THE   BEARS    OF   BLUE    RIVER. 

gone  under  the  clouds  never  to  appear  again. 
Mr.  Brent  continually  called  loudly  to  the 
wolves,  for  the  human  voice  is  an  awesome 
sound  even  to  the  fiercest  animals.  To  Bal- 
ser  the  tone  of  his  father's  voice,  mingled 
with  the  howling  of  wolves,  was  a  note  of 
desperation  that  almost  drove  him  frantic. 
The  wind  increased  in  fury  every  moment, 
and  Balser  felt  the  cold  piercing  to  the  mar 
row  of  his  bones.  He  had  waited  it  seemed 
to  him  hours  for  the  light  of  the  moon  again 
to  shine,  but  the  clouds  appeared  to  grow 
deeper  and  the  darkness  more  dense. 

While  Balser  was  vainly  endeavouring  to 
watch  the  conflict  at  the  wagon,  he  heard 
a  noise  at  the  root  of  the  tree  in  which 
he  had  taken  refuge,  and,  looking  down,  he 
discovered  a  black  monster  standing  quietly 
beneath  him.  It  was  a  bear  that  had  been 
attracted  to  the  scene  of  battle  by  the  noise. 
Balser  at  once  thought,  "  Could  I  kill  this 
huge  bear,  his  great  carcass  certainly  would 
satisfy  the  hunger  of  the  wolves  that  sur 
round  my  father."  Accordingly  he  lowered 


ON  THE  STROKE  OF  NINE.       231 

the  point  of  his  gun,  and,  taking  as  good 
aim  as  the  darkness  would  permit,  he  fired 
upon  the  bear.  The  bear  gave  forth  a 
frightful  growl  of  rage  and  pain,  and  as  it 
did  so  its  companion,  a  beast  of  enormous 
size,  came  running  up,  apparently  for  the 
purpose  of  rendering  assistance. 

Balser  hastily  reloaded  his  gun  and  pre 
pared  to  shoot  the  other  bear.  This  he 
soon  did,  and  while  the  wolves  howled 
about  his  father  the  two  wounded  bears 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree  made  night  hideous 
with  their  ravings. 

Such  a  frightful  bedlam  of  noises  had 
never  before  been  heard. 

Balser  was  again  loading  his  gun,  hoping 
to  finish  the  bears,  when  he  saw  two  lighted 
torches  approaching  along  the  path  over 
which  he  had  just  come,  and  as  they  came 
into  view  imagine  his  consternation  when 
he  recognized  the  forms  of  Liney  Fox  and 
her  brother  Tom.  Tom  carried  his  father's 
gun,  for  Mr.  Fox  had  gone  to  Brookville, 
and  Liney,  in  addition  to  her  torch,  carried 


232    THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

Tom's  hatchet.  Liney  and  Tom  were  ap 
proaching  rapidly,  and  Balser  called  out  to 
them  to  stop.  They  did  not  hear  him,  or 
did  not  heed  him,  but  continued  to  go 
forward  to  their  death.  The  bears  at  the 
foot  of  the  tree  were  wounded,  and  would 
be  more  dangerous  than  even  the  pack  of 
wolves  howling  at  the  wagon. 

"  Go  back  !  Go  back !  "  cried  Balser  des 
perately,  "or  you'll  be  killed.  Two  wounded 
bears  are  at  the  root  of  the  tree  I'm  in, 
and  a  hundred  wolves  are  howling  in  the 
hollow  just  below  me.  Run  for  your  lives  ! 
Run  !  You'll  be  torn  in  pieces  if  you  come 
here." 

The  boy  and  girl  did  not  stop,  but  con 
tinued  to  walk  rapidly  toward  the  spot  from 
which  they  had  heard  Balser  call.  The 
clouds  had  drifted  away  from  the  moon, 
and  now  that  the  light  was  of  little  use  to 
Balser  —  for  he  was  intent  upon  saving 
Liney  and  Tom  —  there  was  plenty  of  it. 

The  sound  of  his  voice  and  the  growling 
of  the  bears  had  attracted  the  attention  of 


ON  THE  STROKE  OF  NINE.      235 

the  wolves.  They  were  wavering  in  their 
attack  upon  Mr.  Brent,  and  evidently  had 
half  a  notion  to  fall  upon  the  bears  that 
Balser  had  wounded.  Meantime  Liney  and 
Tom  continued  to  approach,  and  their 
torches,  which  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  frightened  the  animals  away, 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  bears  and  the 
wolves,  and  drew  the  beasts  upon  them. 
They  were  now  within  a  few  yards  of  cer 
tain  death,  and  again  Balser  in  agony  cried 
out :  "  Go  back,  Liney !  Go  back !  Run 
for  your  lives ! "  In  his  eagerness  he  rose 
to  his  feet,  and  took  a  step  or  two  out  upon 
the  rotten  limb  on  which  he  had  been  seated. 
As  he  called  to  Liney  and  Tom,  and  mo 
tioned  to  them  frantically  to  go  back,  the 
limb  upon  which  he  was  standing  broke, 
and  he  fell  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  feet 
to  the  ground,  and  lay  half  stunned  between 
the  two  wounded  bears.  Just  as  Balser  fell, 
Liney  and  Tom  came  up  to  the  rotten  tree, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  pack  of  wolves 
abandoned  their  attack  upon  Mr.  Brent  and 


236    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

rushed  like  a  herd  of  howling  demons  upon 
the  three  helpless  children. 

One  of  the  bears  immediately  seized 
Balser,  and  the  other  one  struck  Liney 
to  the  ground.  By  the  light  of  the  torches 
Mr.  Brent  saw  all  that  had  happened,  and 
when  the  wolves  abandoned  their  attack 
upon  him  he  hurried  forward  to  rescue 
Balser,  Liney,  and  Tom,  although  in  so 
doing  he  was  going  to  meet  his  death.  In 
a  few  seQonds  Mr.  Brent  was  in  the  midst 
of  the  terrible  fight,  and  a  dozen  wolves 
sprang  upon  him.  Tom's  gun  was  useless, 
so  he  snatched  the  hatchet  from  Liney, 
who  was  lying  prostrate  under  one  of  the 
bears,  and  tried  to  rescue  her  from  its  jaws. 
Had  he  done  so,  however,  it  would  have 
been  only  to  save  her  for  the  wolves.  But 
his  attempt  to  rescue  Liney  was  quickly 
brought  to  an  end.  The  wolves  sprang  upon 
Tom,  and  soon  he,  too,  was  upon  the  ground. 
The  resinous  torches  which  had  fallen  from 
the  hands  of  Tom  and  Liney  continued  to 
burn,  and  cast  a  lurid  light  upon  the  terrible 
scene. 


ON   THE   STROKE  OF   NINE.       237 

Consciousness  soon  returned  to  Balser, 
and  he  saw  with  horror  the  fate  that  was 
in  store  for  his  father,  his  friends,  and  him 
self.  Despair  took  possession  of  his  soul, 
and  he  knew  that  the  lamp  of  life  would 
soon  be  black  in  all  of  them  forever.  While 
his  father  and  Tom  lay  upon  the  ground 
at  the  mercy  of  the  wolves,  and  while  Liney 
was  lying  within  arm's  reach  of  him  in  the 
jaws  of  the  wounded  bear,  and  he  utterly 
helpless  to  save  the  girl  of  whom  he  was 
so  fond,  Balser's  mother  shook  him  by  the 
shoulder  and  said,  "  Balser,  your  father  is 
coming."  Balser  sprang  to  his  feet,  looked 
dazed  for  a  moment,  and  then  ran,  half 
weeping,  half  laughing,  into  his  father's 
arms  .  .  .  just  as  the  sleepy  little  clock 
had  finished  striking  nine. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

A  CASTLE   ON   THE   BRANDYWINE. 

CHRISTMAS  morning  the  boys  awakened 
early  and  crept  from  beneath  their  warm 
bearskins  in  eager  anticipation  of  gifts  from 
Santa  Claus.  Of  course  they  had  long  before 
learned  who  Santa  Claus  was,  but  they  loved 
the  story,  and  in  the  wisdom  of  their  inno 
cence  clung  to  an  illusion  which  brought 
them  happiness. 

The  sun  had  risen  upon  a  scene  such  as 
winter  only  can  produce.  Surely  Aladdin 
had  come  to  Blue  River  upon  the  wings  of 
the  Christmas  storm,  had  rubbed  his  lamp, 
and  lo!  the  humble  cabin  was  in  the  heart 
of  a  fairyland  such  as  was  never  conceived 
by  the  mind  of  a  genie.  Snow  lay  upon  the 
ground  like  a  soft  carpet  of  white  velvet  ten 
inches  thick.  The  boughs  of  the  trees  were 
festooned  with  a  foliage  that  spring  cannot 
rival.  Even  the  locust  trees,  which  in  their 

238 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    239 

pride  of  blossom  cry  out  in  June  time  for  our 
admiration,  seemed  to  say,  "  See  what  we 
can  do  in  winter ; "  and  the  sycamore  and 
beech  drooped  their  branches,  as  if  to  call 
attention  to  their  winter  flowers  given  by 
that  rarest  of  artists,  Jack  Frost. 

The  boys  quickly  donned  their  heavy  buck 
skin  clothing  and  moccasins,  and  climbed 
down  the  pole  to  the  room  where  their 
father  and  mother  were  sleeping.  Jim  awak 
ened  his  parents  with  a  cry  of  "  Christmas 
Gift,"  but  Balser's  attention  was  attracted  to 
a  barrel  standing  by  the  fireplace,  which  his 
father  had  brought  from  Brookville,  and  into 
which  the  boys  had  not  been  permitted  to 
look  the  night  before.  Balser  had  a  shrewd 
suspicion  of  what  the  barrel  contained,  and 
his  delight  knew  no  bounds  when  he  found, 
as  he  had  hoped,  that  it  was  filled  with  steel 
traps  of  the  size  used  to  catch  beavers,  coons, 
and  foxes. 

Since  he  had  owned  a  gun,  Balser's  great 
desire  had  been  to  possess  a  number  of  traps. 
As  I  have  already  told  you,  the  pelts  of  ani- 


240    THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

mals  taken  in  winter  are  of  great  value,  and 
our  little  hero  longed  to  begin  life  on  his 
own  account  as  a  hunter  and  trapper. 

I  might  tell  you  of  the  joyous  Christmas 
morning  in  the  humble  cabin  when  the  gifts 
which  Mr.  Brent  had  brought  from  Brook- 
ville  were  distributed.  I  might  tell  you  of 
the  new  gown  for  mother,  of  the  bright,  red 
mufflers,  of  the  shoes  for  Sunday  wear  and 
the  "store"  caps  for  the  boys,  to  be  used 
upon  holiday  occasions.  I  might  tell  you  of 
the  candies  and  nuts,  and  of  the  rarest  of 
all  the  gifts,  an  orange  for  each  member 
of  the  family,  for  that  fruit  had  never  before 
been  seen  upon  Blue  River.  But  I  must 
take  you  to  the  castle  on  Brandywine. 

You  may  wonder  how  there  came  to  be  a 
castle  in  the  wilderness  on  Brandywine,  but 
I  am  sure,  when  you  learn  about  it,  you  will 
declare  that  it  was  fairer  than  any  castle  ever 
built  of  mortar  and  stone,  and  that  the  ad 
ventures  which  befell  our  little  heroes  were 
as  glorious  as  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  spurred 
and  belted  knight 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    241 

Immediately  after  breakfast,  when  the 
chores  had  all  been  finished,  Balser  and  Jim 
started  down  the  river  to  visit  Liney  and 
Tom.  Balser  carried  with  him  two  Christ 
mas  presents  for  his  friends  —  a  steel  trap 
for  Tom,  and  the  orange  which  his  father 
had  brought  him  from  Brook ville  for  Liney. 

I  might  also  tell  you  of  Tom's  delight 
when  he  received  the  trap,  and  of  Liney 's 
smile  of  pleasure,  worth  all  the  oranges  in 
the  world,  when  she  received  her  present; 
and  I  might  tell  you  how  she  divided  the 
orange  into  pieces,  and  gave  one  to  each  of 
the  family;  and  how,  after  it  had  all  been 
eaten,  tears  came  to  her  bright  eyes  when  she 
learned  that  Balser  had  not  tasted  the  fruit. 
I  might  tell  you  much  more  that  would  be 
interesting,  and  show  you  how  good  and  true 
and  gentle  were  these  honest,  simple  folk, 
but  I  must  drop  it  all  and  begin  my  story. 

Balser  told  Tom  about  the  traps,  and  a 
trapping  expedition  was  quickly  agreed  upon 
between  the  boys. 

The  next  day  Tom  went  to  visit  Balser, 


242    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

and  for  three  or  four  days  the  boys  were 
busily  engaged  in  making  two  sleds  upon 
which  to  carry  provisions  for  their  campaign. 
The  sleds  when  finished  were  each  about  two 
feet  broad  and  six  feet  long.  They  were 
made  of  elm,  and  were  very  strong,  and 
were  so  light  that  when  loaded  the  boys 
could  easily  draw  them  over  the  snow.  By 
the  time  the  sleds  were  finished  the  snow 
was  hard,  and  everything  was  ready  for  the 
moving  of  the  expedition. 

First,  the  traps  were  packed.  Then  pro 
visions,  consisting  of  sweet  potatoes,  a  great 
lump  of  maple  sugar,  a  dozen  loaves  of  white 
bread,  two  or  three  gourds  full  of  butter,  a 
side  of  bacon,  a  bag  of  meal,  a  large  piece  of 
bear  meat  for  the  dogs,  and  a  number  of 
other  articles  and  simple  utensils  such  as  the 
boys  would  need  in  cooking,  were  loaded 
upon  the  sleds.  They  took  with  them  no 
meat  other  than  bacon  and  the  bear  meat 
for  the  dogs,  for  they  knew  they  could 
make  traps  from  the  boughs  of  trees  in 
which  they  could  catch  quail  and  pheas- 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     243 

ants,  and  were  sure  to  be  able,  in  an  hour's 
hunting,  to  provide  enough  venison  to  sup 
ply  their  wants  for  a  much  longer  time  than 
they  would  remain  in  camp.  There  were 
also  wild  turkeys  to  be  killed,  and  fish  to  be 
caught  through  openings  which  the  boys 
would  make  in  the  ice  of  the  creek. 

Over  the  loaded  sleds  they  spread  woolly 
bearskins  to  be  used  for  beds  and  covering 
during  the  cold  nights,  and  they  also  took 
with  them  a  number  of  tanned  deerskins, 
with  which  to  carpet  the  floor  of  their  castle 
and  to  close  its  doors  and  windows.  Tom 
took  with  him  his  wonderful  hatchet,  an  axe, 
and  his  father's  rifle.  Axe,  hatchets,  and 
knives  had  been  sharpened,  and  bullets  had 
been  moulded  in  such  vast  numbers  that  one 
would  have  thought  the  boys  were  going  to 
war.  Powder  horns  were  filled,  and  a  can 
of  that  precious  article  was  placed  carefully 
upon  each  of  the  sleds. 

Bright  and  early  one  morning  Balser, 
Tom,  and  Jim,  and  last,  but  by  no  means 
least,  Tige  and  Prince,  crossed  Blue  River, 


244    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

and  started  in  a  northwestern  direction  tow 
ard  a  point  on  Brandywine  where  a  number 
of  beaver  dams  were  known  to  exist,  ten 
miles  distant  from  the  Brent  cabin. 


EN  ROUTE  FOR  THE  CASTLE. 


Tom  and  Tige  drew  one  of  the  sleds,  and 
Balser  and  Prince  drew  the  other.  During 
the  first  part  of  the  trip,  Jim  would  now  and 
then  lend  a  helping  hand,  but  toward  the 
latter  end  of  the  journey  he  said  he  thought 
it  would  be  better  for  him  to  ride  upon 
one  of  the  sleds  to  keep  the  load  from  fall- 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     245 

ing  off.  Balser  and  Tom,  however,  did 
not  agree  with  him,  nor  did  the  dogs;  so 
Jim  walked  behind  and  grumbled,  and  had 
his  grumbling  for  his  pains,  as  usually  is  the 
case  with  grumblers. 

Two  or  three  hours  before  sunset  the  boys 
reached  Brandywine,  a  babbling  little  creek  in 
springtime,  winding  its  crooked  rippling  way 
through  overhanging  boughs  of  water  elm, 


sycamore,  and  willows,  but,  at  the  time  of  our 
heroes'  expedition,  frozen  over  with  the  mail 
of  winter.  It  is  in  small  creeks,  such  as  Bran 
dywine,  that  beavers  love  to  make  their  dams. 

Our  little  caravan,  upon  reaching  Brandy- 
wine,  at  once  took  to  the  ice  and  started  up 
stream  along  its  winding  course. 

Jim  had  grown   tired.      "I  don't  believe 


246    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

you  fellows  know  where  you're  going,"  said 
he.  "  I  don't  see  any  place  to  camp." 

"  You'll  see  it  pretty  quickly,"  said  Balser ; 
and  when  they  turned  a  bend  in  the  creek 
they  beheld  a  huge  sycamore  springing  from  a 
little  valley  that  led  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

"  There's  our  home,"  said  Balser. 

The  sycamore  was  hollow,  and  at  its  roots 
was  an  opening  for  a  doorway. 

Upon  beholding  the  tree  Jim  gave  a  cry  of 
delight,  and  was  for  entering  their  new  home 
at  once,  but  Balser  held  him  back  and  sent 
in  the  dogs  as  an  exploring  advance  guard. 
Soon  the  dogs  came  out  and  informed  the 
boys  that  everything  within  the  tree  was  all 
right,  and  Balser  and  Tom  and  Jim  stooped 
low  and  entered  upon  the  possession  of  their 
castle  on  Brandywine. 

The  first  task  was  to  sweep  out  the  dust 
and  dry  leaves.  This  the  boys  did  with  bun 
dles  of  twigs  rudely  fashioned  into  brooms. 
The  dry  leaves  and  small  tufts  of  black  hair 
gave  evidence  all  too  strongly  that  the  castle 
which  the  boys  had  captured  was  the  home  of 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    247 

some  baron  bear  who  had  incautiously  left  his 
stronghold  unguarded.  Jim  spoke  of  this 
fact  with  unpleasant  emphasis,  and  was  ready 
to  "  bet "  that  the  bear  would  come  back  when 
they  were  all  asleep,  and  would  take  posses 
sion  of  his  castle  and  devour  the  intruders. 

"  What  will  you  bet  ? "  said  Tom. 

"  I  didn't  say  I  would  bet  anything.  I 
just  said  I'd  bet,  and  you'll  see  I'm  right," 
returned  Jim. 

Balser  and  Tom  well  knew  that  Jim's  proph 
ecy  might  easily  come  true,  but  they  had 
faith  in  the  watchfulness  of  their  sentinels, 
Tige  and  Prince,  and  the  moon  being  at  its 
full,  they  hoped  rather  than  feared  that  his 
bearship  might  return,  and  were  confident 
that,  in  case  he  did,  his  danger  would  be 
greater  than  theirs. 

After  the  castle  floor  had  been  carefully 
swept,  the  boys  carried  in  the  deerskins  and 
spread  them  on  the  ground  for  a  carpet. 
The  bearskins  were  then  taken  in,  and  the 
beds  were  made  ;  traps,  guns,  and  provisions 
were  stored  away,  and  the  sleds  were  drawn 


248    THE   BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

around  to  one  side  of  the  door,  and  placed 
leaning  against  the  tree. 

The  boys  were  hungry,  and  Jim  insisted 
that  supper  should  be  prepared  at  once ;  but 
Tom,  having  made  several  trips  around  the 
tree,  remarked  mysteriously  that  he  had  a  plan 
of  his  own.  He  said  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  work  to  be  done  before  sundown,  and  that 
supper  could  be  eaten  after  dark  when  they 
could  not  work.  Tom  was  right,  for  the 
night  gave  promise  of  bitter  cold. 

Limpy  did  not  tell  his  plans  at  once,  but 
soon  they  were  developed. 

The  hollow  in  the  tree  in  which  the  boys 
had  made  their  home  was  almost  circular  in 
form.  It  was  at  least  ten  or  eleven  feet  in 
diameter,  and  extended  up  into  the  tree 
twenty  or  thirty  feet.  Springing  from  the 
same  root,  and  a  part  of  the  parent  tree,  grew 
two  large  sprouts  or  branches,  which  at  a  lit 
tle  distance  looked  like  separate  trees.  They 
were,  however,  each  connected  with  the  larger 
tree,  and  the  three  formed  one. 

"  What  on  earth  are  you  pounding  at  that 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     249 

tree  for  ?  "  asked  Jim,  while  Tom  was  striking 
one  of  the  smaller  trees  with  the  butt  end  of 
the  hatchet,  and  listening  intently  as  if  he 
expected  to  hear  a  response. 

Tom  did  not  reply  to  Jim,  but  in  a  mo 
ment  entered  the  main  tree  with  axe  in  hand, 
and  soon  Balser  and  Jim  heard  him  chopping. 

The  two  boys  at  once  followed  Tom,  to 
learn  what  their  eccentric  companion  was 
doing.  Tom  did  not  respond  to  their  ques 
tions,  but  after  he  had  chopped  vigorously 
for  a  few  minutes  the  result  of  his  work  gave 
them  an  answer,  for  he  soon  cut  an  opening 
into  the  smaller  tree,  which  was  also  hollow. 
Tom  had  discovered  the  hollow  by  striking 
the  tree  with  his  hatchet.  In  fact,  Tom  was 
a  genius  after  his  own  peculiar  pattern. 

The  newly  discovered  hollow  proved  to  be 
three  or  four  feet  in  diameter,  and,  like  that 
in  the  larger  tree,  extended  to  a  considerable 
height.  After  Tom  had  made  the  opening 
between  the  trees,  he  sat  upon  the  ground, 
and  with  his  hatchet  hewed  it  to  an  oval 
shape,  two  feet  high  and  two  feet  broad. 


250    THE  BEARS   OF  BLUE   RIVER. 

Jim  could  not  imagine  why  Tom  had  taken 
so  much  trouble  to  add  another  room  to  their 
house,  which  was  already  large  enough.  But 
when  Tom,  having  finished  the  opening  upon 
the  inside,  went  out  and  began  to  climb  the 
smaller  tree  with  the  help  of  a  few  low-grow 
ing  branches,  the  youngest  member  of  the  ex 
pedition  became  fully  convinced  in  his  own 
mind  that  the  second  in  command  was  out 
of  his  head  entirely.  When  Tom,  having 
climbed  to  a  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet, 
began  to  chop  with  his  hatchet,  Jim  remarked, 
in  most  emphatic  language,  that  he  thought 
"  a  fellow  who  would  chop  at  a  sycamore  tree 
just  for  the  sake  of  making  chips,  when  he 
might  be  eating  his  supper,  was  too  big  a 
fool  to  live." 

Tom  did  not  respond  to  Jim's  sarcasm, 
but  persevered  in  his  chopping  until  he  had 
made  an  opening  at  the  point  to  which  he 
had  climbed.  Balser  had  quickly  guessed 
the  object  of  Tom's  mighty  labors,  but  he 
did  not  enlighten  Jim.  He  had  gone  to 
other  work,  and  by  the  time  Tom  had  made 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    251 

the  opening  from  the  outside  of  the  smaller 
tree,  had  collected  a  pile  of  firewood,  and  had 
carried  several  loads  of  it  into  the  castle. 
Then  Tom  came  down,  and  Jim  quickly  fol 
lowed  him  into  the  large  tree,  for  by  that 
time  his  mysterious  movements  were  full  of 
interest  to  the  little  fellow. 

Now  what  do  you  suppose  was  Tom's 
object  in  wasting  so  much  time  and  energy 
with  his  axe  and  hatchet? 

A  fireplace. 

You  will  at  once  understand  that  the 
opening  which  Tom  had  cut  in  the  tree  at 
the  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  was  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  chimney  through 
which  the  smoke  might  escape. 

The  boys  kindled  a  fire,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  there  was  a  cheery  blaze  in  their  fire 
place  that  lighted  up  the  room  and  made 
"everything  look  just  like  home,"  Jim  said. 

Then  Jim  went  outside  and  gave  a  great 
hurrah  of  delight  when  he  saw  the  smoke 
issuing  from  the  chimney  that  ingenious 
Tom  had  made  with  his  hatchet. 


252    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE    RIVER. 

Jim  watched  the  smoke  for  a  few  mo 
ments,  and  then  walked  around  the  tree  to 
survey  the  premises.  The  result  of  his 
survey  was  the  discovery  of  a  hollow  in 


THE   CASTLE   ON   THE   BRANDYWINE. 

the  third  tree  of  their  castle,  and  when  he 
informed  Balser  and  Tom  of  the  important 
fact,  it  was  agreed  that  the  room  which 
Jim  had  found  should  be  prepared  for  Tige 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     253 

and  Prince.  The  dogs  were  not  fastidious, 
and  a  sleeping-place  was  soon  made  for 
them  entirely  to  their  satisfaction. 

Meantime  the  fire  was  blazing  and  crac 
kling  in  the  fireplace,  and  the  boys  began  to 
prepare  supper.  They  had  not  had  time 
to  kill  game,  so  they  fried  a  few  pieces  of 
bacon  and  a  dozen  eggs,  of  which  they  had 
brought  a  good  supply,  and  roasted  a  few 
sweet  potatoes  in  the  ashes.  Then  they 
made  an  opening  in  the  ice,  from  which 
they  drew  a  bucketful  of  sparkling  ice 
water,  and  when  all  was  ready  they  sat 
down  to  supper,  served  with  the  rarest  of 
all  dressings,  appetite  sauce,  and  at  least 
one  of  the  party,  Jim,  was  happy  as  a  boy 
could  be. 

The  dogs  then  received  their  supper  of 
bear  meat. 

The  members  of  the  expedition,  from  the 
commanding  officer  Balser  to  the  high  pri 
vates  Tige  and  Prince,  were  very  tired  after 
their  hard  day's  work,  and  when  Tom  and 
Balser  showed  the  dogs  their  sleeping-place, 


254    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

they  curled  up  close  to  each  other  and  soon 
were  in  the  land  of  dog  dreams. 

By  the  time  supper  was  finished  night 
had  fallen,  and  while  Tom  and  Balser  were 
engaged  in  stretching  a  deerskin  across  the 
door  to  exclude  the  cold  air,  Jim  crept 
between  the  bearskins  and  soon  was  sound 
asleep,  dreaming  no  doubt  of  suppers  and 
dinners  and  breakfasts,  and  scolding  in  his 
dreams  like  the  veritable  little  grumbler 
that  he  was.  A  great  bed  of  embers  had 
accumulated  in  the  fireplace,  and  upon  them 
Balser  placed  a  hickory  knot  for  the  purpose 
of  retaining  fire  till  morning,  and  then  he 
covered  the  fire  with  ashes. 

After  all  was  ready  Balser  and  Tom  crept 
in  between  the  bearskins,  and  lying  spoon- 
fashion,  one  on  each  side  of  Jim,  lost  no 
time  in  making  a  rapid,  happy  journey  to 
the  land  of  Nod. 

Tom  slept  next  to  the  wall,  next  to 
Tom  lay  Jim,  and  next  to  Jim  was  Balser. 
The  boys  were  lying  with  their  feet  to 
the  fire,  and  upon  the  opposite  side  of 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    255 

the  room  was  the  doorway  closed  by  the 
deerskin,  of  which  I  have  already  told 
you. 

Of  course  they  went  to  bed  "all  stand 
ing,"  as  sailors  say  when  they  lie  down  to 
sleep  with  their  clothing  on,  for  the  weather 
was  cold,  and  the  buckskin  clothing  and 
moccasins  were  soft  and  pleasant  to  sleep 
in,  and  would  materially  assist  the  bear 
skins  in  keeping  the  boys  warm. 

It  must  have  been  a  pretty  sight  in  the 
last  flickering  light  of  the  smouldering  fire 
to  see  the  three  boys  huddled  closely  to 
gether,  covered  by  the  bearskins.  I  have 
no  doubt  had  you  seen  them  upon  that 
night  they  would  have  appeared  to  you 
like  a  sleeping  bear.  In  fact,  before  the 
night  was  over  they  did  appear  to  —  but  I 
must  not  go  ahead  of  my  story. 

The  swift-winged  hours  of  darkness  sped 
like  moments  to  the  sleeping  boys.  The 
smouldering  coals  in  the  fireplace  were 
black  and  lustreless.  The  night  wind  softly 
moaned  through  the  branches  of  the  syca- 


256    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

more,  and  sighed  as  it  swept  the  bare  limbs 
of  the  willows  and  the  rustling  tops  of  the 
underbrush.  Jack  Frost  was  silently  at 
work,  and  the  cold,  clear  air  seemed  to 
glitter  in  the  moonlight.  It  was  an  hour 
past  midnight.  Had  the  boys  been  awake 
and  listening,  or  had  Tige  and  Prince  been 
attending  to  their  duties  as  sentinels,  they 
would  have  heard  a  crisp  noise  of  footsteps, 
as  the  icy  surface  of  the  snow  cracked,  and 
as  dead  twigs  broke  beneath  a  heavy  weight. 
Ah,  could  the  boys  but  awaken !  Could 
the  dogs  be  aroused  but  for  one  instant 
from  their  deep  lethargy  of  slumber! 

Balser!  Tom!  Jim!  Tige!  Prince! 
Awaken !  Awaken ! 

On  comes  the  heavy  footfall,  cautiously. 
As  it  approaches  the  castle  a  few  hurried 
steps  are  taken,  and  the  black,  awkward 
form  lifts  his  head  and  sniffs  the  air  for 
signs  of  danger. 

The  baron  has  returned  to  claim  his  own, 
and  Jim's  prophecy,  at  least  in  part,  has 
come  true.  The  tracks  upon  the  snow 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE   BRANDYWINE.     257 

left  by  the  boys  and  dogs,  and  the  sleds 
leaning  against  the  tree,  excite  the  bear's 
suspicion,  and  he  stands  like  a  statue  for 
five  minutes,  trying  to  make  up  his  mind 
whether  or  not  he  shall  enter  his  old  domain. 
The  memory  of  his  cozy  home  tempts  him, 
and  he  cautiously  walks  to  the  doorway  of 
his  house.  The  deerskin  stretched  across 
the  opening  surprises  him,  and  he  carefully 
examines  it  with  the  aid  of  his  chief  coun 
sellor,  his  nose.  Then  he  thrusts  it  aside 
with  his  head  and  enters. 

He  sees  the  boys  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  tree,  and  doubtless  fancies  that  his  mate 
has  gotten  home  before  him,  so  he  com 
placently  lies  down  beside  the  bearskins,  and 
soon,  he,  too,  is  in  the  land  of  bear  dreams. 

When  a  bear  sleeps  he  snores,  and  the 
first  loud  snort  from  the  baron's  nostrils 
aroused  Balser.  At  first  Balser's  mind  was 
in  confusion,  and  he  thought  that  he  was  at 
home.  In  a  moment,  however,  he  remem 
bered  where  he  was,  and  waited  in  the  dark 
ness  for  a  repetition  of  the  sound  that  had 


258    THE   BEARS  OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

awakened  him.  Soon  it  came  again,  and 
Balser  in  his  drowsiness  fancied  that  Tom 
had  changed  his  place  and  was  lying  beside 
him,  though  never  in  all  his  life  had  he 
heard  such  sounds  proceed  from  Limpy's 
nose.  So  he  reached  out  his  hand,  and  at 
once  was  undeceived,  for  he  touched  the 
bear,  and  at  last  Balser  was  awake.  The 
boy's  hair  seemed  to  stand  erect  upon  his 
head,  and  his  blood  grew  cold  in  his  veins, 
as  he  realized  the  terrible  situation.  All 
was  darkness.  The  guns,  hatchets,  and 
knives  were  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
tree,  and  to  reach  them  or  to  reach  the  door 
way  Balser  would  have  to  climb  over  the 
bear.  Cold  as  the  night  was,  perspiration 
sprang  from  every  pore  of  his  skin,  and 
terror  took  possession  of  him  such  as  he 
had  never  before  known.  It  seemed  a  long 
time  that  he  lay  there,  but  it  could  not 
have  been  more  than  a  few  seconds  until 
the  bear  gave  forth  another  snort,  and  Tom 
raised  up  from  his  side  of  the  bed,  and 
said :  "  Balser,  for  goodness'  sake  stop  snor- 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     259 

ing.  The  noise  you  make  would  bring  a 
dead  man  to  life." 

Tom's  voice  aroused  the  bear,  and  it  im 
mediately  rose  upon  its  haunches  with  a 
deep  growl  that  seemed  to  shake  the  tree. 
Then  Jim  awakened  and  began  to  scream. 
At  the  same  instant  Tige  and  Prince  entered 
the  tree,  and  a  fight  at  once  ensued  between 
the  bear  and  dogs.  The  bear  was  as  badly 
frightened  as  the  boys,  and  when  it  and  the 
dogs  ran  about  the  room  the  boys  were 
thrown  to  the  ground  and  trampled  upon. 

The  beast,  in  his  desperate  effort  to  es 
cape,  ran  into  the  fireplace  and  scattered 
the  coals  and  ashes.  As  he  could  not  escape 
through  the  fireplace,  he  backed  into  the 
room,  and  again  made  the  rounds  of  the 
tree  with  the  dogs  at  his  heels.  Again 
the  boys  were  knocked  about  as  if  they  were 
ninepins.  They  made  an  effort  to  reach 
the  door,  but  all  I  have  told  you  about  took 
place  so  quickly,  and  the  darkness  was  so 
intense,  that  they  failed  to  escape.  Mean 
time  the  fight  between  the  dogs  and  the 


2<5o    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

bear  went  on  furiously,  and  the  barking, 
yelping,  growling,  and  snarling  made  a  noise 
that  was  deafening.  Balser  lifted  Jim  to  his 
arms  and  tried  to  save  him  from  injury,  but 
his  efforts  were  of  small  avail,  for  with  each 
plunge  of  the  bear  the  boys  were  thrown  to 
the  ground  or  dashed  against  the  tree,  until 
it  seemed  that  there  was  not  a  spot  upon 
their  bodies  that  was  not  bruised  and 
scratched.  At  last,  after  a  minute  or  two  of 
awful  struggle  and  turmoil  —  a  minute  or 
two  that  seemed  hours  to  the  boys  —  the 
bear  made  his  exit  through  the  door  followed 
closely  by  Tige  and  Prince,  who  clung  to 
him  with  a  persistency  not  to  be  shaken  off. 
You  may  be  sure  that  the  boys  lost  no 
time  in  making  their  exit  also.  Their  first 
thoughts,  of  course,  were  of  each  other,  and 
when  Balser  learned  that  Jim  and  Tom  had 
received  no  serious  injury,  he  quickly  turned 
his  head  in  the  direction  whence  the  bear 
and  dogs  had  gone,  and  saw  them  at  a  point 
in  the  bend  of  the  creek  not  fifty  yards  away. 
The  bear  had  come  to  bay,  and  the  dogs 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    261 

were  in  front  of  him,  at  a  safe  distance, 
barking  furiously,  Then  Balser's  courage 
returned,  and  he  hastily  went  into  the  tree, 
brought  out  his  carbine,  and  hurried  toward 
the  scene  of  conflict.  The  moon  was  at  its 
full,  and  the  snow  upon  the  trees  and  upon 
the  ground  helped  to  make  the  night  almost 
as  light  as  day.  The  bear  was  sitting  erect 
upon  his  haunches,  hurling  defiant  growls  at 
the  dogs,  and  when  Balser  approached  him, 
the  brute  presented  his  breast  as  a  fair  mark. 
Tom  also  fetched  his  gun  and  followed 
closely  at  Balser's  heels.  The  attention  of 
the  bear  was  so  occupied  with  the  dogs  that 
he  gave  no  heed  to  the  boys,  and  they  easily 
approached  him  to  within  a  distance  of  five 
or  six  yards.  Tom  and  Balser  stood  for  a 
moment  or  two  with  their  guns  ready  to  fire, 
and  Balser  said :  "  Tom,  you  shoot  first.  I'll 
watch  carefully,  and  hold  my  fire  until  the 
bear  makes  a  rush,  should  you  fail  to  kill 
him." 

Much  to   Balser's   surprise,  Tom  quickly 
and  fearlessly  took  three  or  four  steps  toward 


262    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

the  bear,  and  when  he  lifted  his  father's  long 
gun  to  fire,  the  end  of  it  was  within  three 
yards  of  the  bear's  breast. 

Balser  held  his  ground,  much  frightened 
at  Tom's  reckless  bravery,  but  did  not  dare 
to  speak.  When  Tom  fired,  the  bear  gave 
forth  a  fearful  growl,  and  sprang  like  a 
wildcat  right  upon  the  boy.  Tom  fell  to 
the  ground  upon  his  back,  and  the  bear 
stood  over  him.  The  dogs  quickly  made  an 
attack,  and  Balser  hesitated  to  fire,  fearing 
that  he  might  kill  Tom  or  one  of  the  dogs. 
Then  came  Jim,  who  rushed  past  Balser 
toward  Tom  and  the  bear,  and  if  Jim's  cour 
age  had  ever  before  been  doubted,  all  such 
doubts  were  upon  that  night  removed  for 
ever.  The  little  fellow  carried  in  his  hand 
Tom's  hatchet,  and  without  fear  or  hesitancy 
he  ran  to  the  bear  and  began  to  strike  him 
with  all  his  little  might.  Meantime  poor, 
prostrate  Tom  was  crying  piteously  for  help, 
and,  now  that  Jim  was  added  to  the  group, 
it  seemed  impossible  for  Balser  to  fire  at  the 
bear.  But  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  If  Bal' 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    265 

ser  did  not  shoot,  Tom  certainly  would  be 
killed  in  less  than  ten  seconds.  So,  without 
stopping  to  take  thought,  and  upon  the  im 
pulse  of  one  of  those  rare  intuitions  under 
the  influence  of  which  persons  move  so 
accurately,  Balser  lifted  his  gun  to  his  shoul 
der.  He  could  see  the  bear's  head  plainly 
as  it  swayed  from  side  to  side,  just  over 
Tom's  throat,  and  it  seemed  that  he  could 
not  miss  his  aim.  Almost  without  looking, 
he  pulled  the  trigger.  He  felt  the  rebound 
of  the  gun  and  heard  the  report  breaking  the 
heavy  silence  of  the  night.  Then  he  dropped 
the  gun  upon  the  snow  and  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands,  fearing  to  see  the  result  of 
his  shot.  He  stood  for  a  moment  trembling. 
The  dogs  had  stopped  barking ;  the  bear 
had  stopped  growling;  Jim  had  ceased  to 
cry  out;  Tom  had  ceased  his  call  for  help, 
and  the  deep  silence  rested  upon  Balser's 
heart  like  a  load  of  lead.  He  could  not  take 
his  hands  from  his  face.  After  a  moment 
he  felt  Jim's  little  hand  upon  his  arm,  and 
Tom  said,  as  he  drew  himself  from  beneath 


266    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

the  bear,  "  Balser,  there's  no  man  or  boy 
living  but  you  that  could  have  made  that 
shot  in  the  moonlight." 

Then  Balser  knew  that  he  had  killed  the 
bear,  and  he  sank  upon  the  snow  and  wept 
as  if  his  heart  would  break. 

Notwithstanding  the  intense  cold,  the  ex 
citement  of  battle  had  made  the  boys  un 
conscious  of  it,  and  Tom  and  Jim  stood  by 
Balser's  side  as  he  sat  upon  the  snow,  and 
they  did  not  feel  the  sting  of  the  night. 

Poor  little  Jim,  who  was  so  given  to 
grumbling,  much  to  the  surprise  of  his 
companions  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  said, 
"  Don't  cry,  Balser,  don't  cry,"  although  the 
tears  were  falling  over  the  little  fellow's  own 
cheeks.  "  Don't  cry  any  more,  Balser,  the 
bear  is  dead  all  over.  I  heard  the  bullet 
whiz  past  my  ears,  and  I  heard  it  strike  the 
bear's  head  just  as  plain  as  you  can  hear 
that  owl  hoot;  and  then  I  knew  that  you 
had  saved  Tom  and  me,  because  nobody  can 
shoot  as  well  as  you  can." 

The    little   fellow's    tenderness    and    his 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     267 

pride  in  Balser  seemed  all  the  sweeter,  be 
cause  it  sprang  from  his  childish  gruffness. 

Tom  and  Jim  helped  Balser  to  his  feet, 
and  they  went  over  to  the  spot  where  the 
bear  was  lying  stone  dead  with  Balser's 
bullet  in  his  brain.  The  dogs  were  sniffing 
at  the  dead  bear,  and  the  monster  brute  lay 
upon  the  snow  in  the  moonlight,  and  looked 
like  a  huge  incarnate  fiend. 

After  examining  him  for  a  moment  the 
boys  slowly  walked  back  to  the  tree.  When 
they  had  entered  they  raked  the  coals  to 
gether,  put  on  an  armful  of  wood,  called  in 
the  dogs  to  share  their  comfort,  hung  up  the 
deerskin  at  the  door,  drew  the  bearskins  in 
front  of  the  fire,  and  sat  down  to  talk  and 
think,  since  there  was  no  sleep  left  in  their 
eyes  for  the  rest  of  that  night. 

After  a  long  silence  Jim  said,  "  I  told  you 
he'd  come  back." 

"But  he  didn't  eat  us,"  replied  Tom, 
determined  that  Jim  should  not  be  right  in 
everything. 

"  He'd   have   eaten   you,    Limpy   Fox,   if 


268    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

Balser  hadn't  been  the  best  shot  in  the 
world." 

"That's  what  he  would,"  answered  Tom, 
half  inclined  to  cry. 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Balser,  "anybody  could 
have  done  it" 

"  Well,  I  reckon  not,"  said  Jim.  "  Me 
and  Tom  and  the  dogs  and  the  bear  was  as 
thick  as  six  in  a  bed ;  and  honest,  Balser,  I 
think  you  had  to  shoot  around  a  curve  to 
miss  us  all  but  the  bear." 

After  a  few  minutes  Jim  said :  "  Golly ! 
wasn't  that  an  awful  fight  we  had  in  here 
before  the  bear  got  out  ? " 

"  Yes,  it  was,"  returned  Balser,  seriously. 

"  Well,  I  rather  think  it  was,"  continued 
Jim.  "  Honestly,  fellows,  I  ran  around  this 
here  room  so  fast  for  a  while,  that  —  that  I 
could  see  my  own  back  most  of  the  time." 

Balser  and  Tom  laughed,  and  Tom  said : 
"Jim,  if  you  keep  on  improving,  you'll  be 
a  bigger  liar  than  that  fellow  in  the  Bible 
before  you're  half  his  age." 

Then  the  boys  lapsed  into  silence,  and  the 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    269 

dogs  lay  stretched  before  the  fire  till  the  wel 
come  sun  began  to  climb  the  hill  of  the 
sky  and  spread  his  blessed  tints  of  gray  and 
blue  and  pink  and  red,  followed  by  the 
glorious  flood  of  day. 

After  breakfast  the  boys  skinned  the  bear 
and  cut  his  carcass  into  small  pieces  —  that 
is,  such  portions  of  it  as  they  cared  to  keep. 
They  hung  the  bearskin  and  meat  upon  the 
branches  of  their  castle  beyond  the  reach  of 
wolves  and  foxes,  and  they  gave  to  Tige  and 
Prince  each  a  piece  of  meat  that  made  their 
sides  stand  out  with  fulness. 

The  saving  of  the  bear  meat  and  skin 
consumed  most  of  the  morning,  and  at  noon 
the  boys  took  a  loin  steak  from  the  bear  and 
broiled  it  upon  the  coals  for  dinner.  After 
dinner  they  began  the  real  work  of  the 
expedition  by  preparing  to  set  the  traps. 

When  all  was  ready  they  started  up  the 
creek,  each  boy  carrying  a  load  of  traps  over 
his  shoulder.  At  a  distance  of  a  little  more 
than  half  a  mile  from  the  castle  they  found  a 
beaver  dam  stretching  across  the  creek,  and 


2/o    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

at  the  water's  edge  near  each  end  of  the  dam 
they  saw  numberless  tracks  made  by  the 
little  animals  whose  precious  pelts  they  were 
so  anxious  to  obtain. 

I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  the  marvellous 
home  of  that  wonderful  little  animal  the 
beaver,  and  of  his  curious  habits  and  in 
stincts  ;  how  he  chops  wood  and  digs  into 
the  ground  and  plasters  his  home,  under  the 
water,  with  mud,  using  his  tail  for  shovel 
and  trowel.  But  all  that  you  may  learn  from 
any  book  on  natural  history,  and  I  assure 
you  it  will  be  found  interesting  reading. 

The  boys  placed  five  or  six  traps  upon  the 
beaver  paths  on  each  side  of  the  creek,  and 
then  continued  their  journey  up  stream  until 
they  found  a  little  opening  in  the  ice  down 
to  which,  from  the  bank  above,  ran  a  well- 
beaten  path,  telling  plainly  of  the  many 
kinds  of  animals  that  had  been  going  there 
to  drink.  There  they  set  a  few  traps  and 
baited  them  with  small  pieces  of  bear  meat, 
and  then  they  returned  home,  intending 
to  visit  the  traps  next  morning  at  an  early 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    271 

hour,  and  hoping  to  reap  a  rich  harvest  of 
pelts. 

When  the  boys  reached  home  it  lacked 
little  more  than  an  hour  of  sunset,  but  the 
young  fellows  had  recovered  from  the  ex 
citement  of  the  night  before,  which  had 
somewhat  destroyed  their  appetites  for 
breakfast  and  dinner,  and  by  the  time  they 
had  returned  from  setting  their  traps  those 
same  appetites  were  asserting  themselves 
with  a  vigour  that  showed  plainly  enough  a 
fixed  determination  to  make  up  for  lost  time. 

"  How  would  a  wild  turkey  or  a  venison 
steak  taste  for  supper  ?  "  asked  Balser. 

Jim  simply  looked  up  at  him  with  a  greedy, 
hungry  expression,  and  exclaimed  the  one 
word— "Taste?" 

"  Well,  I'll  go  down  the  creek  a  little  way 
and  see  what  I  can  find.  You  fellows  stay 
here  and  build  a  fire,  so  that  we  can  have  a 
fine  bed  of  coals  when  I  return." 

Balser  shouldered  his  gun  and  went 
down  the  creek  to  find  his  supper.  He 
did  not  take  the  dogs,  for  he  hoped  to  kill 


272    THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

a  wild  turkey,  and  dogs  are  apt  to  bark  in 
the  pursuit  of  squirrels  and  rabbits,  thereby 
frightening  the  turkey,  which  is  a  shy  and 
wary  bird. 

When  the  boy  had  travelled  quite  a  long 
distance  down  stream,  he  began  to  fear 
that,  after  all,  he  should 
be  compelled  to  content 
himself  with  a  rabbit  or 
two  for  supper.  So  he 
turned  homeward  and 
scanned  the  woods  care 
fully  for  the  humble  game, 
that  he  might  not  go  home  entirely  empty- 
handed. 

Upon  his  journey  down  the  creek  rabbits 
had  sprung  up  on  every  side  of  him,  but 
now  that  he  wanted  a  pair  for  supper  they 
all  had  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  he 
feared  that  he  and  the  boys  and  the  dogs 
would  be  compelled  to  content  themselves 
with  bear  meat. 

When  the  boy  was  within  a  few  hundred 
yards  of  home,  and  had  almost  despaired  of 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE. 

obtaining  even  a  rabbit,  he  espied  a  doe 
and  a  fawn,  standing  upon  the  opposite  side 
of  the  creek  at  a  distance  of  sixty  or  sev 
enty  yards,  watching  him  intently  with  their 


"  ESPIED    A    DOE    AND    A    FAWN,    STANDING    UPON    THE    OPPOSITE 
SIDE  OF  THE   CREEK." 


great  brown  eyes,  so  full  of  fatal  curiosity. 
Balser  imitated  the  cry  of  the  fawn,  and 
held  the  attention  of  the  doe  until  he  was 
enabled  to  lessen  the  distance  by  fifteen  or 
twenty  yards.  Then  he  shot  the  fawn, 
knowing  that  if  he  did  so,  its  mother,  the 
doe,  would  run  for  a  short  distance  and 


274      THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

would  return  to  the  fawn.  In  the  mean 
time  Balser  would  load  his  gun  and  would 
kill  the  doe  when  she  returned.  And  so  it 
happened  that  the  doe  and  the  fawn  each 
fell  a  victim  to  our  hunter's  skill.  Balser 
threw  the  fawn  over  his  shoulder  and  car 
ried  it  to  the  castle;  then  the  boys  took 
one  of  the  sleds  and  fetched  home  the  doe. 

They  hung  the  doe  high  upon  the  branches 
of  the  sycamore,  and  cut  the  fawn  into  small 
pieces,  which  they  put  upon  the  ice  of  the 
creek  and  covered  with  snow,  that  the 
meat  might  quickly  cool.  The  bed  of  coals 
was  ready,  and  the  boys  were  ready  too, 
you  may  be  sure. 

Soon  the  fawn  meat  cooled,  and  soon  each 
boy  was  devouring  a  savoury  piece  that  had 
been  broiled  upon  the  coals. 

After  supper  the  boys  again  built  a  fine 
fire,  and  sat  before  it  talking  of  the  events 
of  the  day,  and  wondering  how  many  beavers, 
foxes,  coons,  and  muskrats  they  would  find 
in  their  traps  next  morning. 

As  the  fire   died    down   drowsiness   stole 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.    275 

over  our  trappers,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  bed  soon  after  sunset,  and  they 
again  crept  in  between  the  bearskins  with 
Jim  in  the  middle.  They,  however,  took 
the  precaution  to  keep  Tige  and  Prince  in 
the  same  room  with  them,  and  the  boys 
slept  that  night  without  fear  of  an  intru 
sion  such  as  had  disturbed  them  the  night 
before. 

Next  morning,  bright  and  early,  the  boys 
hurried  up  the  creek  to  examine  their  traps, 
and  greatly  to  their  joy  found  five  beavers 
and  several  minks,  coons,  and  muskrats 
safely  captured.  Near  one  of  the  traps 
was  the  foot  of  a  fox,  which  its  possessor 
had  bitten  off  in  the  night  when  he  learned 
that  he  could  not  free  it  from  the  cruel 
steel. 

The  boys  killed  the  animals  they  had 
caught  by  striking  them  on  the  head  with 
a  heavy  club,  which  method  of  inflicting 
death  did  not  damage  the  pelts  as  a  sharp 
instrument  or  bullet  would  have  done.  After 
resetting  the  traps,  our  hunters  placed  the 


276     THE   BEARS   OF   BLUE   RIVER. 

game  upon  the  sled  and  hurried  home  to 
their  castle,  where  the  pelts  were  carefully 
removed,  stretched  upon  forked  sticks,  and 
hung  up  to  dry. 

Our  heroes  remained  in  camp  for  ten  or 
twelve  days,  and  each  morning  brought 
them  a  fine  supply  of  fur.  They  met  with 
no  other  adventure  worthy  to  be  related, 
and  one  day  was  like  another.  They  awak 
ened  each  morning  with  the  sun,  and  ate 
their  breakfast  of  broiled  venison,  fish,  or 
quail,  with  now  and  then  a  rabbit.  Upon 
one  occasion  they  had  the  breast  of  a  wild 
turkey.  They  sought  the  traps,  took  the 
game,  prepared  the  pelts,  ate  their  dinners 
and  suppers  of  broiled  meats  and  baked 
sweet  potatoes,  and  slumbered  cozily  be 
neath  their  warm  bearskins  till  morning. 

One  day  Balser  noticed  that  the  snow 
was  melting  and  was  falling  from  the  trees. 
He  and  his  companions  had  taken  enough 
pelts  to  make  a  heavy  load  upon  each  of  the 
sleds.  They  feared  that  the  weather  might 
suddenly  grow  warm  and  that  the  snow 


A  CASTLE  ON  THE  BRANDYWINE.     277 

might  disappear.  So  they  leisurely  packed 
the  pelts  and  their  belongings,  and  next 
morning  started  for  home  on  Blue  River, 
the  richest,  happiest  boys  in  the  settlement. 
They  were  glad  to  go  home,  but  it  was 
with  a  touch  of  sadness,  when  they  passed 
around  the  bend  in  the  creek,  that  they 
said  "  Good-by  "  to  their  "  Castle  on  Brandy- 
wine." 


By  CHARLES  MAJOR 

Author  of  "  When  Knighthood  Was  in  Fl&oxr,"  etc. 

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"  Dorothy  Vernon  is  an  Elizabethan  maid,  but  a  living,  loving,  lovable 
girl.  .  .  .  The  lover  of  accuracy  of  history  in  fiction  may  rest  contented  with 
the  story ;  but  he  will  probably  care  little  for  that  once  he  has  been  caught 
by  the  spirit  and  freshness  of  the  romance." —  The  Mail  and  Express. 

"  Dorothy  is  a  splendid  creation,  a  superb  creature  of  brains,  beauty, 
force,  capacity,  and  passion,  a  riot  of  energy,  love,  and  red  blood.  She  is  the 
fairest,  fiercest,  strongest,  tenderest  heroine  that  ever  woke  up  a  jaded  novel 
reader  and  made  him  realize  that  life  will  be  worth  living  so  long  as  the 
writers  of  fiction  create  her  like.  .  .  .  The  story  has  brains,  'go,'  virility, 
gumption,  and  originality."  —  The  Boston  Transcript. 

"  Dorothy  is  a  fascinating  character,  whose  womanly  whims  and  cunning 
ways  in  dealing  with  her  manly,  honest  lover  and  her  wrathful  father  are 
cleverly  portrayed.  The  interest  is  maintained  to  the  end.  Some  might  call 
Dorothy  a  vixen,  but  she  is  of  that  rare  and  ravishing  kind  who  have  tried 
(and  satisfied)  men's  souls  from  the  days  of  Mother  Eve  to  the  present  time." 

—  The  New  York  Herald. 

"A  romance  of  much  delicacy,  variety,  strength,  and  grace,  in  which  are 
revealed  the  history  of  four  lovers  who  by  their  purely  human  attributes  are 
distinct  types."  —  Evening  Journal  News,  Evansville. 

"As  a  study  of  woman,  the  incomprehensible,  yet  thoroughly  lovable, 
Dorothy  Vernon  clearly  leads  all  recent  attempts  in  fiction.  Dorothy  is  a 
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"Dorothy  is  a  feminine  whirlwind,  very  attractive  to  her  audience  if 
somewhat  disconcerting  to  her  victims,  and  the  story,  even  in  these  days  when 
romance  has  become  a  drug,  makes  good  reading."  —  New  York  Life. 


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